BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY REPORT

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector

2020
Prepared by ENTAG

ENTAG is part of the BENEFIT program implemented by Wageningen University and Research
with the support of the Royal Dutch Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
AUTHORS

Demeke Wondmagegn
Getnet Haile

EDITORS

Auke Boere
Rekik Getahoun
Demeke Wondmagegn
Hilde Duns
Trevor Anderson

DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION

Endrődiné Benkő Erika

CONTRIBUTES

Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands

Wageningen University of Research

ENTAG

Target Consult

NABC

CONTACT

Dr Demeke Wondmagegn Mengiste

Poultry Sector Coordinator ENTAG
demeke.wonde@gmail.com

Rekik Getahoun
Asst. Poultry Sector Coordinator ENTAG
poultryintern@gmail.com
CONTENTS

ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1. WHY INVEST IN THE ETHIOPIAN POULTRY SECTOR? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3. OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. PRIMARY PRODUCTION – COMMERCIAL POULTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1 Commercial sector poultry production capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2 Commercial poultry value chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3 Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.4 Access to finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
5. INPUT SUPPLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.1 Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5.2 Vet supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.3 Poultry equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.4 Investment opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6. PROSPECTS OF THE POULTRY SECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7. KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8. SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.1 Research and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
8.2 Associations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
8.3 Development partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

TABLES
Table 1: Broiler production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Table 2: Table egg production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 3: Hatchery capacity of poultry farms in Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 4: Quantity of live chicken imported into Ethiopia between 2013 and 2017 . . . . . . . . 14
Table 5: Export of eggs from Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Table 6: Annual soya bean and maize production in metric tons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 7: Soya bean and maize production in metric tons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 8: Soya beans exported by Ethiopia in tons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 9: Price trends of feed ingredients in ETB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table 10: Poultry feed production capacity of selected poultry feed processors
in metric tons, 2019/20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Table 11: Government strategy plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

FIGURES
Figure 1: Poultry meat value chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 2: Table eggs value chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 3: Import of poultry meat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 4: Monthly egg demand pattern of Friendship Supermarket 2018/19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 5: GDP growth trends and forecasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 6: Poultry feed value chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

ANNEXES
Annex 1: Dutch investors in poultry sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Annex 2: Egg production estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Annex 3: Dutch Africa Poultry Platform partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Annex 4: List of input suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Annex 5: List of feed processors and their operating capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Annex 6: Poultry import/export key requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ACRONYMS

ACGG African Chicken Genetic Gain

ATA Agricultural Transformation Agency
BITs Bilateral Investment Treaties
CBE Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
CSA Central Statistical Agency
CFTA Continental Free Trade Area
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
DBE Development Bank of Ethiopia
DOC Day-Old Chicken
DTTs Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties
EIAR Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
ENTAG Ethiopia–Netherlands Trade for Agricultural Growth
EPPPA Ethiopian Poultry Producers and Processors Association
ERCA Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
GoE Government of Ethiopia
HAPP Holland–Africa Poultry Partners
ILRI International Livestock Research Institute
ITC International Trade Center
IMF International Monetary Fund
LMP Livestock Master Plan
LSA Livestock Sector Analysis
MoA Ministry of Agriculture
NAHDIC National Animal Health Diagnosis and Investigation Center
NABC Netherland African Business Council
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
NVI National Veterinary Institute
PANVAC Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Center
VDFACA Veterinary Drug and Feed Administration and Control Authority
 1. WHY INVEST IN THE ETHIOPIAN POULTRY SECTOR?
A growing economy: Over the past decade, the Ethiopian
economy has been growing at an average rate of 10%
per annum, and the poverty rate has fallen from 44%
in 2000 to 23.5%.1 A decline in the poverty rate of a
country generally implies an increase in disposable
income, which in turn triggers growth in the demand for
consumable products, including poultry.
Enormous gaps to be filled: There are gaps in the
supply of inputs for poultry production and processing
in Ethiopia. Producers and processors are challenged by
limited access to high-quality poultry equipment and
machinery, vet supplies, vet equipment, feed ingredients,
day-old chicks (DOCs) and parent stock. For example,
the limitation with the feed value chain represents a
bottleneck for the growth of the poultry sector. However,
this also implies that there is an opportunity for investors
to address this bottleneck and invest in feed production.
Growing urbanization and huge population: Ethiopia is
the second most populous country in Africa with about
110 million people, which represents a large consumer
base. The proportion of the population living in urban
areas in Ethiopia is increasing rapidly from around 14%
in the late 1990s to about 21% today, resulting in a
growing demand for consumable products associated
with an urban way of life. Fast food chains are growing
and international brand names/global franchises are
entering the market; Pizza Hut being the first interna-
tional restaurant franchise to enter the Ethiopian Market
with a plan of opening 20 branches all over the country.
Furthermore, local brands specializing in chicken meat
are increasing in popularity. The growth in the volume
of local poultry production and imported poultry
meat from Brazil and other countries testifies to the
emergence of a fast-growing poultry sector in Ethiopia.
Increasing market outlet opportunities: Supermarkets
and retail shops are increasing in most of the cities
and towns of Ethiopia. The hospitality sector is growing
rapidly, surpassing Kenya. Supermarkets, hotels and
restaurants are becoming key players in the poultry
value chain.
Government role: The Government of Ethiopia (GoE)
has recognized that the development of the poultry
sector is key to reducing poverty, achieving food and
nutritional security, and contributing to the national GDP.
According to GoE’s five-year Livestock Master Plan
(LMP), significant strategy action items are outlined to
boost the production and supply of poultry products.
These measures include creating a conducive envi-
ronment for foreign and local investors by developing
industrial parks, and enhancing the ease of doing
business by improving legal frameworks and working
procedures.
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
According to the LMP, the GoE intends to work through
Private Public Partnerships (PPP) for the expansion of
improved semi-scavenging breeds, which have a higher
genetic potential for egg and meat production. It also
aims to increase annual chicken meat production to
164,000 tons (about four times the current level of
production) and increase egg production to 3.9 billion.
By 2030, the government plans to have achieved an
increase in the consumption rate of poultry meat from
5% to 27% to fill the meat demand and supply gap.
In this regard, the GoE plans to address feed challenges,
enhance extension services, and provide incentives to
private investors.
Public Private Partnership (PPP): Poultry is more than
just a business; it embodies nutrition, food security,
and job opportunities for millions of youth and rural
households. The GoE and development partners are
interested in working with private investors in poultry
development. Some large-scale poultry farms are already
engaged in the PPP scheme.
Export opportunities: Ethiopia has export opportuni-
ties through virtue of being a member of the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and as
one of the 44 countries in Africa that has signed up to
the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). Ethiopia has
also signed Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) with 30
countries and Double Taxation Avoidance Treaties (DTTs)
with 12 countries.
Investment incentives: The GoE provides different
incentive mechanisms, including duty-free import of
capital goods, duty-free import of motor vehicles, income
tax holidays, loss carry forward, export incentives (zero
VAT rate, duty drawback scheme, retention of foreign
currency earned from exports), and financial incentives
in the form of loans, to the extent of financing up to 50%
of a project cost.
See Annex 1 for the list of Dutch investors, who are
operating in the Ethiopian poultry sector.
See Annex 3 for the list of Dutch Africa Poultry Partners
that could potentially operate in the Ethiopian poultry
sector.
1 As at 2015/16.
5
 2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE
Demography: Ethiopia, the 12th most populous country
in the world, has a population of 110 million (2019). The
population is growing at an annual average rate of 2.7%,
and is expected to reach 130 million by 2032. More than
60% of the Ethiopian population is young (below the
age of 24). The literacy rate is low at a rate of 49%, but
promises to increase significantly in the coming years.
The literacy rate has grown by 22% in the past 25 years.
The Human Development Index, at 0.463, has been
growing for the past couple of years at a rate of 1.8%
per annum.
Economy: Ethiopia’s economy has been growing at an
annual average rate of 8.9% since 2012. The growth rate
in 2018 was 7.7%. Economic growth is well above the
world’s average economic growth rate in terms of GDP.
3. OVERVIEW
Poultry has a significant role in the Ethiopia rural
community as a source of income and nutrition. About
45% of rural households in Ethiopia, about 8.1 million
households, hold up to nine chickens, and about 1.7 mil-
lion households have between 10 and 49 chickens each
(CSA, 2018). The role of the commercial sector is increasing
(16.52% commercial meat production and 25% commer-
cial egg production) and overtaking the share of the
traditional backyard poultry farming system from year to
year in terms of production volume.
6 Business Opportunity Report 2020
In 2018, GDP was US$90.97 billion (at current price)
with a per capita income of US$853. GDP per capita
is growing at a rate of 12% annually. According to a
forecast by the IMF, the economy is expected to register
a GDP of UD$108 billion in 2021.
The agriculture sector contributes 39% of national GDP,
followed by services (34%) and industry (27%). The share
of the industry sector has grown from 13% in 2010 to
27% in 2018. Crops are the major contributor in the agri-
culture sector, representing 65.3% of agricultural GDP,
followed by the livestock sector, which contributes about
25.6%. The contribution of the livestock sector increased
from 21.7% in 2012 to 25.6% in 2018. The growing
poultry and dairy sectors contribute significantly to the
growth in the contribution of the livestock sector.
APPROACH
Data from the Central Statistical Agency
(CSA, 2018) on annual commercial poultry
meat and egg production in Ethiopia has been
found to be an underestimate of the actual
size. Therefore, based on the data collected
for the sake of this report, the commercial
production and per capita consumption have
been synthesized, taking into account key
parameters – such as mortality rate, laying
percentage and production performance – to
estimate the average amount of commercial
production and consumption in Ethiopia.
Furthermore, data synthesized in this report
is a reflection of the commercial sector only
and its contribution to local production, thus
excluding imports.
 4. PRIMARY PRODUCTION – COMMERCIAL POULTRY

4.1 COMMERCIAL SECTOR POULTRY 4.1.2. CHICKEN MEAT PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION CAPACITY
4.1.1 PARENT STOCK
The commercial poultry sector has about 71,000 broiler
breeder stock, 87,300 layer breeder stock and 141,700
dual-purpose parent stock. All of the large-scale and
some of the medium-scale poultry farms depend on
their own parent stock to ensure sustainable production
of DOCs. All parent stocks are imported from various
countries. Popular parent stock breeds in Ethiopia for
broilers are Cobb-500, Hubbard, and Rose 308. Likewise,
common layer and dual-purpose breeders in Ethiopia
include Bovans Brown, ISA, Lohmann, TETRA-SL and
Sasso. Sasso, which is a dual-purpose breed, dominates
the PPP model business, which targets mainly the
backyard production system. There is no company yet
established for the production of grandparent stock.
Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center (DZARC) has
a pure line breed called Koekoek (about 3,800), thus
does not require frequent imports of parent stock.
According to statistical data from the CSA and Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2018 and 2019, annual
poultry meat production is estimated at 54,000 tons, of
which the commercial sector’s contribution is 16.5%.
In 2013, annual poultry meat production was about
48,000 tons, of which 99% came from the traditional
backyard system and 1% from the commercial poultry
sector (LSA, 2017).
However, based on a detailed assessment of commercial
farms for the purpose of this report, poultry meat produc-
tion is estimated to be 7,750 tons per year, taking into
account a conservative estimate based on the available
71,000 parent stock (broiler breeders). This indicates that
the commercial sector’s contribution is much greater than
that indicated by the CSA. Furthermore, the per capita
consumption of chicken meat is estimated to be about
0.55kg, which is much lower than many countries.²
Table 1 shows the estimation of meat production by
the commercial sector.

TABLE 1: BROILER PRODUCTION

FARM NAME BOILER BATCH NET BROILER DOCS TOTAL AFTER NET
BREEDER BREEDERS (COMMERCIAL) MORTALITY OF DOCs
FLOCK SIZE (8%) – 5%

Alema Farms 5,000 4 4,600 656,880 624,036

ELFORA 7,500 2 6,900 985,320 936,054
Hage Farm 3,000 3 2,760 394,128 374,422
SW Farm 4,000 3 3,680 525,504 499,229
Bisrate Gebriel Poultry Farm 4,000 1 3,680 525,504 499,229
Elere Farm 6,000 1 5,520 788,256 748,843
Chico Meat 5,000 1 4,600 656,880 624,036
Commercial
TOTAL 71,000 4,532,472 4,305,849
broilers
Estimated meat production at 1.8 kg per carcass weight: 7,750,526.4 kg
7,750.5264 tons

Note: Broiler production is estimated taking into account fertile egg production of 168 eggs within 8 months of laying period per batch and a
hatchability of 85%. The mortality rate of the breeders is 8%, with a production rate of 70%.

² According to OECD FAO database, per capita consumption of poultry in Ethiopia is 0.11 kg
(five times lower than this report finding). By way of comparison, per capita consumption is
2.4 kg in India, 11.2 kg in Egypt, 16.9 kg in Japan, 49.68 kg in USA and 64.86 kg in Israel.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 7

4.1.3 EGG PRODUCTION
According to the CSA (2017/18), total egg production
in 2017/18 was 136 million, of which 63% came from
indigenous breeds. The CSA’s figure of 136 million eggs
is far below the actual production of eggs estimated by
the key sector players.
Based on data collected for this report, taking into
account a conservative estimate of 87,300 layer breeder
stock, 141,700 dual-purpose parent stock, and a commer-
cial layer of 166,400 the annual egg production is
estimated at 1.83 billion eggs or about 73,357 tons.
Using these figures, the per capita consumption of
egg is 0.7 kg (or about 18 eggs), which is far below
the world average.³ The population of indigenous
layers has declined in the past 10 years, as a result of
the expansion of the commercial sector has increased
market penetration in the rural community in layer and
dual-purpose chicken distribution. See Table 2.
According to the CSA, the population of laying hens is
about 19.5 million, of which exotic breeds represent
just (11.81%). The contribution of exotic breeds (which
are supplied by the commercial sector) increased from
2% in 2012/13 to 25% in 2017/18. About 75% of egg
production comes from traditional backyard farmers
who own indigenous breeds, and 25% comes from
the commercial sector. About 39% of the total eggs
produced at national level are available for sale.
However, this report indicates that the commercial
sector contributes about 12.2 million layers, which is
much greater than the contribution of the commercial
sector as indicated by the CSA.

TABLE 2: TABLE EGG PRODUCTION

FARM NAME LAYER DUAL TOTAL TOTAL EGGS PER TOTAL

BREEDERS BREEDERS LAYERS ANNUM

EthioChicken 120,000 120,000 5,540,400 120 664,848,000

EthioChicken 30,000 30,000 1,385,100 120 166,212,000
Alema Farms 7,500 7,500 692,550 246 170,367,300
Gerado Farms 10,000 10,000 923,400 246 227,156,400
Ene Ali Yimer 3,000 3,000 277,020 246 68,146,920
Golden Poultry Farm 4,500 4,500 415,530 246 102,220,380
Hawassa Farm 10,000 10,000 923,400 246 227,156,400
Hawassa Farm 20,000 20,000 923,400 120 110,808,000
Bedele Farm 3,500 3,500 323,190 246 79,504,740
EIAR 3,800 3,800 350,892 246 86,319,432
EIAR 1,700 1,700 78,489 120 9,418,680
Elere Farm 5,000 5,000 461,700 246 113,578,200
TOTAL 87,300 141,700 219,000 12,295,071 1,790,214,048

COMMERCIAL LAYERS
FARM NAME FLOCK SIZE MORTALITY PRODUCTION NUMBER OF PRODUCTION TOTAL NUMBER
FROM FLOCK DAYS EGGS RATE OF EGGS
(10%)

ELFORA 86,400 77,760 365 28,382,400 80% 22,705,920

Maranatha Poultry Farm 40,000 36,000 365 13,140,000 80% 10,512,000
Debre Holland Poultry Farm 40,000 36,000 365 13,140,000 80% 10,512,000
TOTAL 43,729,920
Total egg production in quantity 1,833,943,968
Egg weight in kg 0.04
Total egg production in kg 73,357,759
Total population 100,000,000
Per capita egg consumption in no. of eggs 18.339
Per capita egg consumption in kg 0.734
Note: Key parameters used for the estimation of egg production are: 288 fertile eggs produced per annum per parent stock layer; a mortality rate of
10% for the parent stock; a hatchability rate of 75%; 50% chance of female layer; 5% mortality rate at farm level; and 50% backyard farmer-level loss
(for dual-purpose chicken only). See Annex 2 for more details.

³ According to the FAO (2019 data), Africa’s average egg consumption is 2.3 kg per capita per year, while USA’s is 11.4 kg
and Europe’s is 12.7 kg. The world average is 8.9 kg. USA’s per capita egg consumption is about 250 eggs per year.

8 Business Opportunity Report 2020

4.2 COMMERCIAL POULTRY VALUE CHAIN
Big players in the poultry sector are commer-
cial farmers, processors, supermarkets, kiosks, open
market retailers, hotels, restaurants and household
consumers. Other key players are feed processors,
DOC suppliers, feed premix importers and suppliers,
vet service providers and equipment suppliers. The
Ministry of Agriculture, regional agriculture bureaus
and woreda-level agriculture offices play an important
role in setting and implementing policies, providing
technical and extension support, and facilitating PPPs.
In addition, other government institutions provide
support in research and development activities. Non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and trade and
professional associations have their role in supporting
the private sector through development activities, such
as interventions to address identified bottlenecks that
are hindering sector development. Key value chain
contexts that positively or negatively affect the poultry
value chain are issues related to access to land, access
to finance, the legal framework, culture, investment
incentives and infrastructure.

FIGURE 1: POULTRY MEAT VALUE CHAIN

Chain Contexts
ENABLING Culture, Religion, Legal framework, Taxation, Incentives, Infrastructure,
ENVIRONMENT Finance, Inflation, Foreign currency reserves

CONSUMPTION Household Consumers

Poultry farms’ Hotels &

RETAILING sales outlet
Supermarkets
restaurants

Slaughtering –
PROCESSING Slaughtering
missing service
Middlemen

Small-scale
Broiler
Broiler farmer farmers /
outgrower
traditional
slaughtering
PRODUCTION

Raising broiler Hatchers

parents (DOC broilers)

DOC Parent Parent broiler

Vet supplies Vet supplies Feed
broiler breeders fertile eggs
INPUTS
Foreign suppliers Local suppliers

Service providers / Enablers

SERVICE • Macro level: Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and industry, Trade associations (EPPPA)
PROVIDERS • Meso level: Bureau of Agriculture, Research institutes, Universities
• Micro level: Office of Agriculture, Bank, Insurance, Transport service providers

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 9

4.2.1 THE POULTRY VALUE CHAIN
Input suppliers
»» Parent stock
Parent stock is sourced from foreign suppliers,
as there are no grandparent producers locally.
Commercial farmers directly import DOC parent
stock. Though not significant in volume, a few
poultry farms import fertile eggs.
»» Veterinary supplies
Veterinary supplies are sourced from local producers
and from foreign suppliers. The National Veterinary
Institute (NVI) is the key supplier of vaccines in
Ethiopia.
»» Poultry feed
Poultry feed is largely produced locally. Key ingredi-
ents for the production of feed, including premixes
and vitamins, are imported from abroad. Most of the
large- and medium-scale commercial farms have
their own processing plants, which produce feed for
internal consumption only. Some large-scale feed
processors specialize in the production and supply
of poultry feed. Section 5 of this report provides an
in-depth assessment of the input value chain.
Broiler DOC producers and distributors
Key players in broiler production are large- and medium-
scale commercial farms that have parent stock. Alema
Farms, ELFORA, Fantu, SW Farm, Bisrate Gebriel Poultry
Farm, Elere Farm and Chico Meat collectively produce
about 4.3 million broiler DOCs per annum.
The business model for broilers: Some of the large-scale
commercial farms (such as Alema Farms and ELFORA)
have fully-integrated poultry meat production, including
DOC production, distribution of DOCs and/or fertile
eggs, growing broilers, meat processing, and distribution
of meat through their sales outlets. These farms also
supply directly to hotels and supermarkets.
The second business model starts from the sourcing of
broiler DOCs. Medium- and small-scale commercial farms
start from the acquisition of DOC broilers (sourcing from
large-scale commercial farmers), do the processing, and
sell to hotels and restaurants.
The third business model is an out-grower scheme.
Under this model, poultry farms distribute DOC broilers
to small-scale poultry farms and repurchase them at
a pre-agreed price after they have grown. They then
slaughter, pack, and distribute through their sales
channels. Chico Meat is a good example of the use of
this model. FW Farm, which is a sister company of SW
Farm, also specializes in slaughtering and packing,
mainly sourcing from SW Farm and from out-growers.
10
Layer DOC producers, importers and distributors
The major suppliers of DOCs are commercial farmers
concentrated within a 100km radius of Addis Ababa.
There are also commercial farmers that produce DOCs in
regional towns.
Figure 2 shows the value chain of table egg production.
The business model for layers: The first business model
is the production of eggs starting with the acquisition
of commercial layer DOCs, such as ELFORA, Maranatha
and Debre Holland poultry farms. Medium-scale farms
such as Gerado Poultry Farms start from the acquisition
of fertile eggs to produce DOCs.
The second business model involves multiple activities,
including the import of layer parent stock (breeders),
commercial production, and distribution of DOC layers.
Major suppliers of layers and/or dual-purpose chickens
are EthioChicken, Alema Farms, Hawassa Farm and
Gerado Farms. These farms sell DOC layers in different
ways. Some of them (Alema and Gerado) distribute layer
DOCs to small and medium-sized poultry farms. Others
(EthioChicken and Hawassa Farm) distribute a significant
portion of their layer and dual-purpose DOCs through a
PPP arrangement.
The third type of model is distribution through agents.
EthioChicken distributes DOCs through its 5,300-plus
agents throughout Ethiopia. EthioChicken distributed
about 20 million DOCs in 2019. Major customers of DOC
are medium- and small-scale poultry farms that do not
have their own hatchery facilities or parent stock. Some
poultry farms sell DOCs together with feed as a package.
The fourth model is the production and distribution of
pullets. Some commercial farms sell layers at the pullet
stage. Alema Farms and Gerado Farms are examples
of this model. Alema Farms sells about 40,000 pullets
per annum. Major customers for pullets are youth and
women’s group enterprises, as well as rural backyard
poultry farmers. Some farms supply pullets to small-
scale farms. For example, Hawassa Poultry Farm sells
about 140,000 pullets annually through the PPP scheme.
The fifth business model (which is not a commercial
business) is the production and distribution of layer
DOCs by government institutions that are not for
profit. Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center (DZARC),
a public institution, sells DOCs and fertile eggs for its
dual breed at ETB 10, for farmers, youth enterprises
and private companies, with the objective of promoting
poultry production. Due to the limited supply, there is
often a long queue to receive orders from DZARC. In the
coming years, DZARC plans to increase its DOC produc-
tion capacity fivefold. Though small in size, there are
also other government-owned hatcheries that produce
and distribute DOCs.
Business Opportunity Report 2020
 FIGURE 2: TABLE EGGS VALUE CHAIN

Chain Contexts
ENABLING Culture, Religion, Legal framework, Taxation, Incentives, Infrastructure,
ENVIRONMENT Finance, Inflation, Foreign currency reserves

CONSUMPTION Consumers

Spent layers Poultry farms’ Hotels &

Supermarkets
live market sales outlet restaurants

RETAILING

Spent layers
Middlemen

Small-scale Micro
egg backyard
producers producers

Large-scale egg Pullet

production
PRODUCTION production

Raising layer Hatchers

parents (DOC layers)

DOC
DOC Parent Parent layer
Commercial Vet supplies Vet supplies Feed
layer breeders fertile eggs
layers
INPUTS
Foreign suppliers Local suppliers

Service providers / Enablers

SERVICE • Macro level: Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and industry, Trade associations (EPPPA)
PROVIDERS • Meso level: Bureau of Agriculture, Research institutes, Universities
• Micro level: Office of Agriculture, Bank, Insurance, Transport service providers

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 11

Hatchery
All of the large-scale farms and most of the medium-scale
poultry farms have their own hatchery facilities. Poultry
farms’ hatchery capacity ranges from 4,000 to 850,000
per batch. Common brands of hatchery equipment used
are Petersime, Pasreform, Victoria and Robinson, as well
as Chinese and locally produced hatcheries.
Some of the poultry farms operate their hatcheries
under capacity, mainly due to the short supply of foreign
currency for the importation of parent stock or commer-
cial layer DOCs, and/or shortage of feed supply or
internal management issues.
Table 3 shows the hatchery capacity and utilization rate
of some poultry farms.
Processing
Generally, there are only a few farms engaged in poultry
processing such as Chico Meat, FW agro-processing and
Alema Farms. However, there are no specialized poultry
businesses conducting chicken slaughtering services for
the public. Those businesses that operate in an out-
grower scheme raise broilers on their own or source them
from their related companies. Most poultry farms are
self-sufficient and some small-scale farms process meat
in a poorly equipped facility. The lack of slaughtering,
marketing and cold storage facility services results in
market loss for mainly small- and medium-scale poultry
farms during times of over-supply. Supply could be
regulated if there are consolidated and specialized
slaughtering, storage and marketing services.
Retailing
Table eggs are produced by farms with different capaci-
ties. These can be categorized as large-, medium- and
small-scale farms. Small-scale farms include micro-
enterprises, such as those operated by youth and
women’s groups (enterprises), and individual rural
backyard poultry farmers.
Most of the commercial farms have their own sales
outlets and directly sell to supermarkets and hotels.
Small-scale farms and some medium-scale farms sell to
traders who have market networks. These traders mainly
supply hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

TABLE 3: HATCHERY CAPACITY OF POULTRY FARMS IN ETHIOPIA

SETTER HATCHER MACHINERY TYPES

ELFORA 1,000,000 850,000

EthioChicken 2,118,400 335,360 Chick Master
Alema Farms 450,000 350,000 Petersime, Victoria
Hawassa Poultry 247,800 75,200 Petersime, Victoria and Chicken Master
Gerado Farms 153,600 38,400 Pasreform
Gerado Poultry Farm 72,150 26,800 Pasreform and Victoria
Seyoum and Abebayehu 38,400 19,200
SW 76,800 19,200 Pasreform
EIAR 153,600 38,400 Pasreform and Victoria
Getu 76,800 19,200 Pasreform
KSMA 18,300 6,300 Victoria
Bethel Farm Asegedech 57,600 19,200 Petersime
Abebaw Geses/Mojo 28,080 7,000 Robinson
Asefa Holleta Farm 18,400 6,300 Victoria/Chinese-made
Almaz 22,000 – Locally produced
Adele 18,400 6,300 Victoria
Bedele 18,400 6,300 Victoria
Beke 8,400 – Chinese
Alage TVET 18,400 6,300 Victoria
Adama 37,000 6,400 Victoria
Addis Ababa Urban Agriculture 38,448 12,852
Papazone Poultry 10,000 4,000 Chinese-made
TOTAL 4,670,978 1,848,712

Note: It is estimated that this list captures at least 95% of the hatcheries available in Ethiopia by the end of 2019. Some of the hatcheries and setters
are not functional for a number of reasons, including lack of foreign currency, inputs or working capital.

12 Business Opportunity Report 2020

Traders and brokers
The role of traders in the value chain is to collect poultry
products – mainly live chickens, eggs and poultry meat –
and distribute them to different customers. Traders based
in urban areas mainly source from small and medium-
sized farms. They sell their products in village markets,
kiosks, supermarkets and hotels. Some traders carry out
slaughtering but often have sub-standard facilities. Some
large supermarkets prefer to buy from large commer-
cial farms due to quality concerns, although hotels often
prefer to buy from traders, as traders ensure more sustain-
able supplies compared to some small- and medium-scale
poultry farms, which may not always be able to supply a
product (for reasons explained above). Though traders/
brokers are filling the vacuum in relation to sustainable
supplies, many small- and medium-scale farmers complain
about that they are pressurizing them to decrease the
selling price and disseminating wrong information about
the supply and demand of poultry products.
Supermarkets, hotels and restaurants
More than 85% of processed meat is supplied to more
than 100 supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. Moderate
size supermarkets sell between 30 and 80 kilograms of
chicken meat per week and between 1,000–2,000 eggs
per week. Supermarkets source poultry meat mainly from
large-scale poultry farms and some from medium- and
small-scale farms. In addition, they also source eggs from
all available sources, including traders.
Hotels and restaurants, which have significantly
increased in number in the last 10 years, are also major
buyers of poultry products. They source from traders and
commercial farmers. Global franchises such as Pizza Hut,
specialty restaurants including Chicken Hut, WoW
Burger, Roomi Burger and other fast food vendors, are
also major buyers of poultry meat.
Kiosks and village markets
Apart from supermarkets, poultry products are also
distributed to small shops (kiosks) and village markets by
traders. In this area of the market, table eggs are usually
distributed. However, live chickens, such as spent hens
that are to be consumed as chicken meat, are occasionally
distributed to local village markets.
Consumers
Householders source poultry meat from commercial
farm sales outlets and supermarkets. For traditional
cuisine, consumers prefer to buy live chickens, slaugh-
tered local breeds or spent layers.
Many small towns and rural communities do not have
supermarkets and well-established hotels and restau-
rants which provide broiler chicken meat. This segment
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
of society is not a direct consumer of commercial
broilers. Their main sources of meat are the indig-
enous breeds, spent layers and dual-purpose chickens.
According to the CSA, 27% of poultry is produced by
traditional backyard poultry producers and 27% of
the eggs produced are consumed by household-level
producers, while the remaining 73% are sold through
village markets. Brokers in urban areas, including in
major towns and cities, collect live chickens (mainly
spent hens and indigenous breeds) from villages and
sell them to open market traders. Table eggs are largely
consumed at the breakfast table in households, hotels
and cafés. Other users include pastry and cake producers.
During holidays, eggs are also added to traditional doro
wot cuisine.
Addis Ababa is the major market in Ethiopia for poultry
meat and eggs. The increasing urban population and the
growing hospitality sector in the capital have contributed
to the growing demand for poultry products. Tourist
arrivals have grown by 14% annually (UNWTO 2019).
Ethiopia has surpassed Kenya in terms of hotels and
related hospitality establishments, and international
brands that are located in the country include Hilton,
Sheraton, Marriott, Golden Tulip, Radisson Blu, Ramada,
Pullman and Hyatt Regency. In addition, prominent local
hospitality and hotel brands are on the rise.
There are about 80 hotels in Addis Ababa that are rated
at two stars or above. Ethiopia has the largest hospitality
sector in East Africa. The network of Ethiopian Airlines,
and the presence of convention centers, including
the African Union and the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa, make Addis Ababa an attractive
location for international conferences. In the past few
years, chain restaurants specializing in poultry meat
have been expanding.
At household level, the traditional cuisine, doro wot, is a
popular chicken dish in most of the regions of Ethiopia.
The lengthy preparation process and the cost of ingre-
dients (including eggs) make doro wot expensive. The
ever-increasing price of chicken and eggs, induced by
increasing feed costs, makes them unaffordable for many.
The development and promotion of various easy-to-make
and less costly cuisines at household level are identified
as part of the strategy in the LMP.
Import
Imported poultry meat represents less than 0.6% of
annual poultry meat production in Ethiopia. The volume
of imported chicken meat increased significantly in the
past five years, almost by 100 times. Frozen meat consti-
tutes about 67% of total chicken meat imports. Figure 3
shows the volume of imported chicken meat. Frozen
chicken meat is mainly imported from Brazil (67%) and
France (33%). Fresh or chilled meat is imported mainly
from Ukraine.
13
As the local DOC supply is not sufficient for poultry FIGURE 3: IMPORT OF POULTRY MEAT
farms, some import DOCs for resale and for their own
use. According to the ITC database, in 2017, about kg
430,000 DOCs were imported, which includes broilers,
300,000
layers and parent stock.
250,000
Live chickens are imported mainly as parent stock and
DOCs, either for layer, broiler or dual purpose. Ethiopia
200,000
imported 438,391 live chickens in 2017 from different
countries, including Belgium (41%), the Netherlands (28%),
Brazil (27%) and Germany (4%). The volume of imported 150,000

live chickens has not grown to the same extent as the

volume of imported chicken meat. This is partly due 100,000

to the increase in the production and supply of DOCs

locally. Since 2013, the annual volume of imported live 50,000

chicken has grown at an average rate of 5.4% annually

(Table 4). 0
Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Volume (kg) 2,628 7,669 54,972 220,005 261,686
Pricing

The price of poultry products varies depending on the

size of poultry product supply and demand. Supply and TABLE 4: QUANTITY OF LIVE CHICKEN IMPORTED INTO ETHIOPIA
demand are affected by the availability of feed, feed BETWEEN 2013 AND 2017
Source: ITC
cost, foreign currency, holidays, fasting seasons and
other factors.
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

The prices indicated below are those captured at the 359,747 264,661 350,823 498,125 438,391
time of preparation of this report, in the third quarter
of 2019.

»» Broilers: The price of broiler meat ranges from

ETB 60 to ETB 80 per kilo when sold from a farm.
Retailers sell at a price between ETB 110 and ETB 125,
depending on the season or supply.

»» DOCs: The price of DOCs ranges from ETB 28 to ETB 30.

DZARC sells DOCs and fertile eggs at ETB 10 per unit,
which is three times lower than the market price.

»» Pullets: The price of pullets ranges from ETB 100 to

ETB 120.

»» Table eggs: The price of eggs at producer level ranges

from ETB 4.00 to ETB 4.50; at retail level it ranges
from ETB 5.00 to ETB 5.80.

Competition

Generally, large-scale poultry farms have a stable market

through their channels, although there are instances
where impact of competition is seen, such as when
supply volume surges or where demand fall during
fasting season or because other factors. Some small-
scale farmers point out that certain large-scale poultry
farms from which they source broiler DOCs compete
with them in the poultry meat market.

14 Business Opportunity Report 2020

4.3 EXPORT FIGURE 4: MONTHLY EGG DEMAND PATTERN OF FRIENDSHIP
SUPERMARKET 2018/19

Ethiopia has the opportunity to export poultry

products across Africa since it’s a member of COMESA
9,000
and CFTA. With the existing limited capacity, poultry
farms exported 24,300 kilograms of eggs to Somalia 8,000
and Djibouti in 2017. In the same year, 46,000 DOCs 7,000
and 21,800 chickens weighing more than 185 g were
6,000
exported to Rwanda, Somalia and Djibouti – EthioChicken
exported to its branch office in Rwanda; commercial 5,000
farmers exported to Somalia and Djibouti. Theodros 4,000
Kassahun was the only exporter to Djibouti and Somalia
in the past two years. 3,000

2,000
Social changes: Ethiopia’s population is estimated to
1,000
be about 110 million (end of 2019) and to reach up to
130 million by 2032, which represents about 1.4% of the 0

world’s population. This is a huge market potential for Month JAN MAR MAY JUL SEP NOV
Eggs 6,538 4,426 7,137 7,837 7,939 6,200
consumable products. While Ethiopia’s has the lowest Month FEB APR JUN AUG OCT DEC
proportion of urban residents in the world, the urban Eggs 7,123 5,627 5,485 6,934 7,648 7,103
population has grown rapidly in the last 20 years, from
14% to 21%, and growing urbanization triggers more
demand for poultry products. It is also worth noting that
more than 60% of the population is below the age of 24, TABLE 5: EXPORT OF EGGS FROM ETHIOPIA
which represents an extensive pool of human resources.
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Economy: The economy of Ethiopia has been growing at
annual average rate of 8.9% since 2012 and is expected 159,066 58,014 42,300 80,190 24,300
to register an annual average rate of above 7% up to
2024 (IMF). Figure 5 shows GDP growth trends and
estimates since 2000.
FIGURE 5: GDP GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS
Source: IMF, 2019
Over the past four years the inflation rate has increased
2–3% every year and is currently about 18%. Foreign %
currency reserves have been at their lowest in the past 15,0
few years and are expected to continue at this low point 13,5
for the coming one or two years. The GoE provides a 12,0
number of incentives for investors engaged in export 10,5
marketing. For poultry businesses, the export of DOCs 9,0
and parent stock from Ethiopia is a potential investment 7,5
line. Foreign investors are permitted by law to repatriate 6,0
their profits or their net proceeds from business disposal 4,5
in foreign currency. Details of investment incentives are 3,0
available at www.investethiopia.gov.et. 1,5
0,0
Infrastructure: The GoE has been investing in infra- -1,5
structure for the past 20 years, including in transport, -3,0
electric power and telecoms. Ethiopian Airlines, the
2000

2002
2004

2006
2008

2010

2012

2014
2016

2018
2020

2022
2024

largest airline in Africa, has its hub in Addis Ababa.

Those engaged in the export and import of light and
ETHIOPIA
perishable items, including DOCs and parent stock, can KENYA
take advantage of Ethiopian Airlines’ network of desti- WORLD
nations across the globe.

In spite of multiple infrastructure projects, road coverage

and electric power are still a challenge to development
initiatives. The completion of the Great Renaissance
Dam and other power projects are expected to satisfy
growing power demands. Close to 90% of electricity is
generated by hydropower, which makes the cost of elec-
tricity relatively cheap compared to other countries.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 15

Poultry health: The most common disease is Newcastle,
followed by Gumboro, infectious bronchitis, fowl pox,
coccidiosis and salmonellosis. Vet services are available
from local producers and importers. Some poultry
farmers have concerns about the quality of vet supplies
imported from some Asian countries and some supplies
produced locally. There are investment opportunities in
Ethiopia for the manufacture of high-quality vet supplies.
Legal framework: The legal framework for doing busi-
nesses and investments is generally clear and workable.
While Ethiopia in recent years has been rated low in
World banks overall index of ‘ease in doing business’,
the GoE has established a taskforce to relax stringent
business registration and other related business services.
The trade registration proclamation was revised in 2019.
When it comes to the poultry sector, the LMP clearly
shows the government’s intention to make significant
changes to the sector. The plan covers the years 2015
to 2020, although it seems that the targets are not
achievable within the remaining one-year span. It is
expected that the government will develop a revised
roadmap for the next five years. Policies in the area of
biosecurity, regulation of DOC production and distribu-
tion are under revision and the Ministry of Agriculture
has developed a standard for poultry feed.
Poultry farmers have indicated that there is an absence
of a clear policy which defines the roles of private
and government institutions in poultry production,
processing and marketing; and inadequate poultry
disease prevention and control systems. The marketing
of commercial poultry products is yet to be regulated.
A poultry policy is under development by the MoA’s
Poultry Directorate. Currently, the Ministry has stated
that the poultry policy will be compiled as part of
the livestock policy. However, the Ethiopian Poultry
Producers and Processors Association (EPPPA) is
lobbying for a separate poultry policy in order to secure
greater exposure of the ministries aims and targets
for the poultry sector.
Foreign investors are allowed to invest in the poultry
sector and foreign manufacturers can supply to
Ethiopian importers. In general, it is allowed for
Ethiopian nationals to import into Ethiopia DOCs and
poultry production inputs, including medical supplies,
equipment, and feed ingredients. However, foreign
investors cannot establish such a business in Ethiopia.
Key data on the legal framework are included in Annex 6.
16
Government institutions: The Ministry of Agriculture (at
federal level), bureaus of agriculture (at regional level)
and offices of agriculture (at woreda/district level) play
key roles in the setting of policies and the provision of
technical and extension services. The rural community
accesses vet services from public animal health posts.
Other specialized government institutions also provide
services. See Section 5 for a brief description of govern-
ment institutions which provide support to the poultry
sector.
4.4 ACCESS TO FINANCE
The finance sector includes banks, microfinance and
private equity organizations, grants from donor programs,
and insurance companies. There are about 17 banks and
17 insurance companies in Ethiopia, with totals asset
of ETB 835 billion, excluding the Development Bank of
Ethiopia (DBE). The state-owned Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia (CBE) is the largest bank. CBE’s total assets
(ETB 712 billion) are six times larger than the combined
assets of all private commercial banks. Commercial
banks are regulated by the National Bank of Ethiopia.
Key issues to know about financing from commercial
banks are:
»» Agriculture is one of a priority sectors for the CBE,
and in many banks 20% of the loan portfolio is
earmarked for the agriculture sector, which includes
poultry (10–25% in the case of DBE).
»» Banks generally view the poultry sector as moderate
or low risk.
»» The interest rate charged is based on a matrix of
duration, type of collateral offered and business
sector. There is no specific interest rate for poultry,
but the minimum is 11.5% (CBE and DBE). Awash
Bank (private) has the highest interest rate – between
15% and 17% if the products are for local sales, and
9% if they are for export.
»» Collateral is mandatory to secure a loan, and also
has an impact on the interest rate.
»» Banks require a business plan/feasibility study when
an investor applies for financing.
Business Opportunity Report 2020
 5. INPUT SUPPLY

5.1 FEED Input suppliers

5.1.1. POULTRY FEED VALUE CHAIN
The poultry feed value chain broadly consists of input
suppliers, feed processors, retailers, enablers and the
chain contexts. See Figure 6.
Animal feed input suppliers include importers who
supply vitamins and minerals, feed ingredients and
poultry equipment. Some importers directly supply to
feed processors and others sell through distributors.
Flour millers supply wheat bran and middling, and
edible oil millers supply oil cakes. Other suppliers include
salt producers and retailers, lime producers and retailers,
and poultry abattoirs. Farmers and farmers’ organiza-
tions (cooperatives and unions) are major suppliers of
wheat grain to flour millers and corn (maize) to traders.

FIGURE 6: POULTRY FEED VALUE CHAIN

Source: Based on data analysis

Chain Contexts
ENABLING Culture, Legal framework, Taxation, Incentives, Infrastructure,
ENVIRONMENT Export Market, Finance, Inflation, Foreign currency reserves

CONSUMER/USERS Medium- and small-scale poultry farms

Agents /
MARKETING Retailers

Commercial feed Poultry farms with own feed

PRODUCTION processors processing plant

Feed premix/
Local ingredient Flour millers and Corn grain
vitamins, equip-
suppliers edible oil millers suppliers
ment suppliers

INPUTS

Abattoirs, salt
Importers / Govt. subsidy Farmers /
producers, lime
Foreign suppliers wheat supply Cooperatives
producers

Service providers / Enablers

• Macro level: Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and industry, Trade associations (Feed
SERVICE processors)
PROVIDERS • Meso level: Bureau of Agriculture, Research institutes, Universities
• Micro level: Office of Agriculture, Bank, Insurance, Transport service providers

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 17

The government also imports and distributes wheat TABLE 6: ANNUAL SOYA BEAN AND MAIZE PRODUCTION
IN METRIC TONS – CSA DATA
grain at subsidized prices. Wheat millers who agree to
sell wheat flour at a fixed price are allowed to share a

2011/2012
quota from subsidized wheat supplies. Brokers play a

2012/2013

2013/2014

2014/2015

2015/2016
significant role in linking traders and feed processors in
the purchase of maize.

Soya bean and maize supply Maize 6,069,413 6,158,318 6,491,540 7,234,955 7,150,835

Soya bean and maize constitute more than 50% of the Soya
35,880 63,653 61,025 72,184 81,242
bean
ingredients. Between 2011 and 2016, soya bean and
maize production volume increased annually at average
rates of 31.6% and 4.5%, respectively. However, the TABLE 7: SOYA BEAN AND MAIZE PRODUCTION IN METRIC TONS –
supply of both products is far below demand (Table 6). ACCORDING TO FAO. Source: FAOSTAT. FAO indicates that the data for
2013–2016 are official and the 2017 data is FAO’s computation

The FAO’s data on the production of soya bean and maize

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
is slightly different from CSA data, as shown in Table 7.
Maize 6,491,540 7,234,955 7,882,444 7,847,175 8,116,787
As indicated above, the agriculture sector is dominated
by smallholder farmers. A significant volume of produc- Soya
61,025 72,184 89,554 81,235 84,033
tion is used for household consumption and reused for bean
seed. According to the CSA, only 13% of the total maize
produced and 54% of soya bean produced were supplied
to the market. This means that 92,900 tons of maize TABLE 8: SOYA BEANS EXPORTED BY ETHIOPIA IN TONS
Source: ITC database, ERCA
and 44,300 tons of soya bean were available for sale
in 2015/16. The volume of soya bean exported in 2015
was 32,697 tons, which represents about 74% of soya 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
bean available for sale. Hence, only 11,603 tons of soya Soya
bean were available to the local market. Poultry feed 35,532 32,697 73,275 53,935 84,733
beans
processors are not the only buyers of soya bean. Food
processors also compete for the purchase of soya bean.
Table 8 shows the trend in the volume of soya bean
exported by Ethiopia.

Feed processors mainly buy soya bean and maize from

traders. Brokers, with their network and marketing infor-
mation capability, significantly influence the price. Feed
processors accuse brokers of artificially inflating prices
and sabotaging the market by hording stock in anticipa-
tion of price hikes.

Premixes and other ingredients

Other feed ingredients used by poultry feed producers

are premixes of amino acids, concentrates, trace
minerals and vitamins. According to a feed assessment
report issued in 2018, about 677 tons of feed supple-
ments were imported in 2015/16, of which 90% (about
610 tons) was for poultry feed production. Specifically,
poultry premix accounted for 43% of total imports, while
layer/broiler concentrates accounted for 30%.

There are 15 enterprises engaged in the importation of

supplements (premixes, additives and vitamins), while
three enterprises are engaged in the manufacturing of
supplements. Ten of these importing enterprises are
situated in Addis Ababa, while the remaining five are
situated in Oromia (four) and SNNPR (one).

18 Business Opportunity Report 2020

Cost of poultry feed structure TABLE 9: PRICE TRENDS OF FEED INGREDIENTS IN ETB
Source: Feed Processors Association (2011 and 2016), data collected 2019.
Feed ingredients constitute about 55–70% of the cost of
feed, depending on the size and technology of the feed INGREDIENTS
2010/11 2015/16 2019 Change
processing facility. The cost of transportation constitutes (per ton)
10% to 15%, and labor and overheads account for about Maize 4,000 5,100 10,000 150%
10% each. Wheat bran 2,800 4,170 6,500 132%
Wheat middling 3,000 4,200 3,500 17%
Feed accounts for 40–70% of the cost of poultry produc-
Noug cake 3,000 4,800 9,500 217%
tion; for some small farms, it may represent up to 80%
of the cost of production. The production size, the Soybean meal 7,500 12,000 20,000 167%
volume of purchase or production, proximity to the Layer rations 5,030 8,340 12,500 149%
feed supply and seasonal price fluctuations affect the Grower rations 5,520 10,270 13,500 145%
overall feed cost in terms of the proportion of the total Chick starter rations 6,550 10,676 14,000 114%
cost of poultry production. Higher economies of scale
INGREDIENTS
and better access to feed supplies will lower the cost
(per kg)
of feed per unit of production. Feed processors mainly
use local inputs, except premixes and concentrates, Limestone 1 2 2 100%
which represent 10% of the feed composition. The total Methionine 185 197 200 8%
feed required for poultry production is estimated at 2.7 kg Lysine 90 134 135 50%
of feed per kg of egg for layers and 1.8 kg of feed per kg Vitamin premix 32 37 62 94%
of live weight of broilers. Salt 3.2 4.6 44%

The average prices of the different feed ingredients

have increased by over 100% in the past eight years.

Table 9 shows the unit price of feed ingredients in 2011,

2016 and 2019.

Key challenges Feed processors

Access to land: The highlands of Ethiopia are dominated
by smallholder farmers where the value chain between
the farmers and feed processors is too inefficient. It is
often difficult to predict the volume of maize and soya
bean production, as millions of farmers decide individ-
ually what to produce within the small plots of lands
that they have. Although the GoE encourages investors
to enter into large-scale commercial farming, no signif-
icant change has yet been observed in terms of supply.
Broker interference: Many feed processors complain
about grain trade brokers sabotaging the supply of corn
and causing artificially inflated prices. This is an indica-
tion of the weak value chain link between producers
and feed processors.
Feed quality: The quality of concentrate feed is a
concern for some of the feed processors, as is the
quality of compound feed for poultry farms. Although
the Ministry of Agriculture has issued quality standards
for poultry feed, due to the lack of enforcement, sub-
standard items affect the productivity of poultry
farming, especially for small- and medium-scale farms.
Foreign currency supply: The shortage of foreign
currency has increased the lead time between ordering
and receiving supply input imports such as premix.
During long waiting periods to obtain foreign currency,
there can be price fluctuations and import cost inflation
of high-priced equipment, especially equipment imported
from Europe.
Large-scale feed processors, such as Alema Koudijs,
carry out feed production and marketing, but are not
involved in poultry production. Most of the large-scale
poultry farms, including EthioChicken and ELFORA,
have their own feed processing facilities. Feed proces-
sors either supply their products from the factory gate
or through their agents and retailers (often referred
to as agro dealers). Some of the DOC sellers provide
poultry feed to their customers as part of the sales
package.
According to ACDI/VOCA, fewer than 100 enterprises
produce animal feed as a commercial business in
Ethiopia. Private plants account for 84% of compound
feed production, while farmers’ unions produce 16%.
Most processors produce multiple feed items, including
for poultry, dairy and cattle fattening; some specialize
in producing just one of the items. Around 99% of feed
production of farmers’ cooperative unions is for dairy
and fattening cattle. Poultry feed production repre-
sents 66% of total feed production by commercial feed
processors. Some poultry farms have vertical integra-
tion and hence consume all their feed such as Alema
Farms and ELFORA; others sell part of their feed such
as Friendship and Elere and others sell all their produc-
tion such as Alema Koudijs and Akaki Feed Processing.
The major feed processors are listed in Annex 5.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 19

Commercial feed processors are concentrated around TABLE 10: POULTRY FEED PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF SELECTED
POULTRY FEED PROCESSORS IN METRIC TONS, 2019/20
Addis Ababa and the four regions (Oromia, Amhara, Source: Interviews with company representatives
SNNPR and Tigray). About 68% of private feed processing
plants are found in Oromia (37%) and Addis Ababa (31%), PRODUC-
while Amhara, SNNPR and Tigray constitute 13%, 13% COMPANY NAME TION REMARK
and 6%, respectively. Farmers’ unions are evenly distrib- VOLUME
uted across SNNPR, Oromia, Amhara and Tigray. Alema Koudijs 78,000
EthioChicken 50,000
The total poultry feed production capacity in Ethiopia Amen Animal Feed Producer 21,600 2,000 quintals per day
is estimated at 500,000 tons. The annual production of
Elere Farm 2,920
poultry feed (2019) is estimated at 270,000 tons. Some
ELFORA 12,000
of the large-scale feed processors are operating almost
at full capacity. Many of the processors are operating at Yegnanesh Poultry & Feed 382.5
a lower capacity (between 40% and 60%), mainly due Tegenu & Marshet
96
to the shortage of input supplies, inconsistent demand, Partnership
power outages, inflation, or because they are focusing Beyene Feed Processors 5,840 20 quintals per day
on other animal feed products. Table 10 shows a list of Friendship Agro Industry 21,900 600 quintals per day
20 major feed producers (some of them are also poultry
New company –
producers). The list represents more than 85% of poultry Jagdesh Agro Production Plc 78,000
annual capacity
feed producers.
Bora Integrated Poultry
3,100
Retailers Farm
Capacity is more
Gerado Farms 30,000
than 60,000
Retailers distribute feed produced by feed processors,
mainly targeting small feed enterprises that cannot OK Agro Industry 7,200
afford to place large-scale orders to source directly from Ethio-Feed 7,200
commercial feed processors. Hawassa Poultry Farm 86,000
Bisrate Gebriel Poultry Farm 4,800
Customers/Users
SW Poultry 4,800
DZARC 2,500
Small- and medium-sized poultry farms are the final
consumers of poultry feed. Some of them acquire feed Bora Integrated Commercial
2,500
Farms
as a package from their DOC suppliers and others buy
Addis Alem Animal Feed 360 quintals per shift
from retailers or directly from feed processors. Urban and 10,800
Processing – 35% poultry
peri-urban poultry farms buy about 65% of poultry feed
production. About 20% of the customers are smallholder
poultry farmers. Government agencies and NGOs buy
about 10% and 5% of poultry feed produced, respectively.4

Chain supporters and service providers

The Ministry of Agriculture and regional and woreda-

level agricultural offices, the Agricultural Transformation
Agency, the National Veterinary Institute (NVI), Veterinary
Drug and Feed Administration and Control Authority
(VDFACA), the Ethiopian Meat & Dairy Development
Institution, various agricultural research institutes, and
NGOs are among the providers of technical advice,
research and grants (mainly to cooperatives) with the
objective of supporting and regulating the feed sector.
The LMP identified feed development as a key action
item for the development of the poultry sector.

4
Feed assessment report by ACDI/VOCA, 2018.

20 Business Opportunity Report 2020

5.2 VET SUPPLY
Vet supplies include vet medicines (mainly antibiotics),
veterinary equipment and laboratory equipment. The
only local producer of vet vaccines in Ethiopia is the
NVI. Vaccines and other medicines are also imported
from various countries, including France, Pakistan, Italy
and China. Many poultry farms prefer European-origin
vet supplies. Lab equipment imported from Europe is
more durable than cheaper equipment sourced from
Asian countries. Among the private importers of vaccine
products is SumJohn Veterinary Drug medicine and
equipment importer. It mainly distributes the products
of France-based vaccine producer, CEVA. CEVA predomi-
nantly supplies to large-scale farms, including Alema
Farms, EthioChicken and ELFORA. Some large-scale
poultry farms such as ELFORA import vet supplies for
their own consumption, and occasionally buy from local
suppliers when they are short of supplies (often due to
problems accessing foreign currency to pay for imports).
See Annex 4 for a list of importers of vet supplies.
Some poultry farms express concerns about the quality
and availability of vet supplies from NVI. In response,
NVI notes that the poor handling of vaccines by some
poultry farms affects their effectiveness, such as storing
vaccines at inappropriate temperatures, mixing vaccines
with contaminated water (instead of distilled water),
mixing failures, and improper injections. NVI is quarterly
reviewed by AU-PANVAC (a pan African vet center) for
quality assurance.
Key challenges in the sector include shortages of
vaccines and medical supplies due to a lack of foreign
currency, seasonality of demand, and the increasing
cost of medical supplies. Weak health advisory services,
inadequate drug supplies, poor quality of vaccines/
insufficient quality control of drugs and vet supplies are
common concerns of poultry farms.
5.3 POULTRY EQUIPMENT
Equipment for the poultry industry is imported, and
includes hatcheries (industrial and small scale), cages,
feeders, mixers, drinkers, and hammer mills, as well as
equipment for cold storage and slaughtering. Products
are usually tailor-made to meet customers’ specifi-
cations, and products originating from Europe are
typically reliable and durable. There are also local
equipment manufacturers. Equipment suppliers are
listed in Annex 4. The rising cost of equipment, as a
result of inflation and the short supply of foreign
currency, increases the cost of production at poultry
farms.
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
5.4 INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY
Investment in large-scale farms for the production of
soya bean and maize: As indicated above, most of the
large-scale feed processing plants are operating at close
to full capacity, while medium-size farms are operating
under capacity, mainly due to the limited access to feed
supplies and inability to absorb price hikes. The most
significant cost of poultry production is the cost of
feed. Consequently, the supply of feed to poultry farms
is determined by success of feed producing companies
which in turn is highly dependent on a consistent and
sustainable supply of maize and soya bean. Therefore,
investing on maize and soya bean in a large scale is seen
as an opportunity for investors.
Premix manufacturing: Some feed processors halt their
operations when they run out of premix. In addition to
quality concerns, supply is sometimes affected by the
availability of foreign currency to importers. Potential
investors may also consider neighboring countries for
the export of premixes to operate at a larger scale.
Manufacturing of poultry equipment: As the sector
grows, it will become increasingly expensive for many
new entrants to import poultry equipment.This represents
an opportunity for investors to establish manufacturing
businesses for key and fast-moving poultry equipment.
An assembly plant could be a quick-win to enter into the
market instead of a large-scale manufacturing plant.
Investors can also consider neighboring countries for
the export of poultry equipment produced in Ethiopia.
There is a huge demand for equipment that makes
poultry producers more efficient in terms of cost and
productivity. Investors may need to explore the cost-
effective technologies in the context of an infant but
fast-growing sector.
Consultancy/Education services: This is an opportunity
for a knowledge institute to invest in consulting and
research services, such as for feed composition, based
on available resources in Ethiopia and also taking into
account the genetic make-up of breeds in use. Potential
customers would be the GoE, as well as NGOs and inter-
national organizations working in development of the
poultry sector.
Production of vet medicines: Investors have oppor-
tunities to invest in the production of vet supplies in
Ethiopia. Favorable conditions include tax exemptions
for the import of components for the production of vet
supplies; a clear and transparent registration process for
new vet supplies by the controlling authority (VDFACA);
and huge demand from customers seeking to access
reliable vet supplies. For those who wish to invest at a
larger scale, the export market is an alternative, which
can attract more incentives from government.
21
 6. PROSPECTS OF THE POULTRY SECTOR
Private Public Partnership: It is the policy of the Ethiopian
government to promote Private Public Partnerships
(PPPs) for the production and distribution of DOCs and
vaccines, and to reach as many smallholder farmers as
possible. Though it is at an infant stage, some commer-
cial farms are working in collaboration with the GoE to
distribute DOCs.
The LMP sees the distribution of improved semi-scav-
enging and tropical pure breeds by the private sector
as a vehicle to transform and improve the traditional
family poultry farming system. In the policy, the govern-
ment has also expressed its intention to support private
commercial farms and other actors in establishing
grandparent farms. The government envisages private
grandparent farms with a capacity of 110 million DOCs by
2028 through promotion, incentives, business extension
services and consumer training. The government has
also indicated in the LMP that it will make available
122,000 ha and 102,000 ha of land for the production
of maize (580,000 tons) and soya bean (299,000 tons),
respectively.
Environment: Environmental concerns appear to favor
the poultry sector compared to other popular sources of
meat. Poultry is believed by many to be the meat product
of the future, as it has the lowest of all CO₂ emissions.
7. KEY POINTS TO CONSIDER
»» The poultry sector is a priority sector, as indicated by
the GoE in the LMP, with a particular emphasis on PPP.
»» Though policy gaps have been identified, the Ministry
of Agriculture is working on addressing them in
collaboration with stakeholders.
»» Lack of capacity of certain government offices has
been indicated as a limitation, however it is important
to note that the government is working to improve
on the possible challenges.
»» The government has recently undergone a restruc-
ture of its ministries and agencies. As a result, new
comers to the poultry sector could recognize that the
mandates of different government bodies may have
overlapped.
22
Government intention to improve the breed quality:
The GoE would like to increase the average slaughter
weight of chickens, from 1.5 kg (indigenous breeds) to
2.5 kg (exotic breeds). There is a huge opportunity for
investors here in terms of introducing and dissemi-
nating breeds, establishing parent stock production
facilities, and vet supplies.
Health service intervention: The GoE plans to reduce the
50% mortality rate of chickens in the backyard farming
system to 10%. This represents an opportunity for inter-
national investors experienced in animal health medical
products and services. The government anticipates
encouraging the private sector with an overall spend of
US$397 million to achieve the targets set out in Table 11.
TABLE 11: GOVERNMENT STRATEGY PLAN
Source: LMP
STATUS TARGET
IN 2013 FOR 2028
Specialized layer units 290 2,400
Broiler farms 30 2,415
Average number of birds per unit
– layers
500 6,250
Average number of birds per unit
6,400 35,200
– broilers
Total number of layers 73.2 million
Total number of broilers 375.5 million
»» It is recommended for investors to be aware of the
basic requirements for investment in Ethiopia. Visit
www.investethiopia.gov.et for details of investment
incentives, areas of business allowable for foreign
investors, and investment thresholds.
»» Tax laws and regulations are available on the
Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority website:
www.mor.gov.et. The corporate tax rate is 30% for
investors establishing a business as a private limited
company. For sole proprietorships and partnerships,
the tax rate is progressive according to net income
and the maximum rate is 35%.
Business Opportunity Report 2020
 8. SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION
GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS
Ministry of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture has a livestock department
that consists of three main departments, namely Animal
Production, Animal Health and Pastoralists. The Ministry is
responsible for the development of policy and strategy in
the agriculture sector and oversees their implementation
at federal and regional level. The Bureau of Agriculture
and the office of agricultures at regional level and woreda
(district) level also implement regional-level policies and
strategies. For further information, visit www.moa.gov.et.
Government extension service
The Ministry of Agriculture establishes set national-
level extension policy, providing technical support to
the extension system and supporting the regions with
training and other capacity-strengthening activities.
Bureaus of Agriculture at regional level and offices of
agriculture at zonal and woreda (district) level mainly
implement agricultural policies. The majority of
extension workers are based at woreda level.
Agricultural Transformation Agency
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)
is an initiative of the GoE established in 2011. The
primary aim of the Agency is to promote agricultural
sector transformation by supporting existing structures
of government, the private sector and other non-govern-
mental partners to address systemic bottlenecks and
deliver a prioritized national agenda to achieve growth
and food security. Its recent projects include commer-
cial farm service centers, agricultural one-stop shop,
mechanization service centers, multiple private sector
development projects, ICT for agricultural services, and
market infrastructure-related projects. For further
information, visit www.ata.gov.et.
Veterinary Drug and Feed Administration and Control
Authority
The Veterinary Drug and Feed Administration and
Control Authority (VDFACA) is the administering and
control authority for veterinary drugs in Ethiopia. It is
accountable to the Ministry of Agriculture. It is respon-
sible for controlling the quality and safety of veterinary
drugs and animal feed in the country. The authority
is responsible for issuing certificates to those who
intend to trade import vet supplies. Importers should
fulfil facility and human resources requirements to
obtain permit for import license. The importation of vet
medicines requires the prior approval of the VDFACA.
The process requires a rigorous assessment, including
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
a due diligence visit to the manufacturing plant of
the exporter. Some importers complain that the time
between applying and receiving the permit for a product
import takes several months. VDFACA admits there are
often delays, mainly due to limited numbers of staff to
deal with the large number of requests for new certifica-
tion. However, under normal circumstances, the process
takes between six and eight months. The authority also
provides training to vet professionals on vet medicine
handling and control, and conducts monitoring activities
to combat counterfeit (fake) products. For further infor-
mation, visit www.vdfaca.gov.et.
8.1 RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR)
All agricultural research in Ethiopia is carried out by
the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR),
a government body. EIAR coordinates the decentralized
agricultural research activities at federal and regional
research centers, and through higher education insti-
tutions, including seven regional and 15 federal
agricultural research institutes.
The head office of the EIAR is located in Addis Ababa and
most of the poultry research is carried out at its research
station in Debre Zeit. The EIAR operates Regional Agri-
cultural Research Institutes (RARIs) at various locations
across the country. Poultry research concentrates on four
different themes:
1. multiplication and distribution of breeds adaptable
to Ethiopia;
2. breeds are multiplied on-station and on-farm;
3. developing technologies;
4. evaluation of distribution programs.
For further information, visit www.eiar.gov.et.
Universities
Veterinary science education is provided at 11 universi-
ties in the country, and animal science at 14 universities.
The content of the animal science curriculum is not yet
fully harmonized at national level. Poultry education is
part of the animal science curriculum. Poultry education is
spread across three different modules, and covers a total
of 100 contact hours.
University curricula are usually rather theoretically
oriented, with little focus on practical training. Some
universities have their own poultry units, but the manage-
ment quality and utilization of training options in these
units differ from university to university.
23
The Netherlands consortium, Holland–Africa Poultry
Partners, with input from the Dutch government, built
the National Poultry Training Center (NPTC) in Debre Zeit
which was officially open in 2015, although it is not
currently operational. However, the Ethiopian Poultry
Producers and Processors Association (EPPPA), in collab-
oration with the Ethiopian Meat and Dairy Industry
Development Institute (EMDIDI), are working closely
with the MoA Poultry Directorate to reopen the training
center.
The TVET system (technical and vocational training and
education)
All the regions have two or more Agricultural TVETs
(ATVET), all of which include animal production in
their programs. The ATVETs also offer short courses for
farmers, extension officers and government extension
workers. Farmers are selected by the DAs (development
assistants/extension workers) of the government at
woreda level.
Most of the ATVET graduates end up in government
service as DAs or animal health technicians. Recently,
some ATVETs have started adapting their curricula to
the growing labor needs of the private sector, with some
assistance from Dutch educational institutes, supported
by Nuffic, which is an independent non for profit Dutch
organization for internationalization in education.
National Veterinary Institute (NVI)
The National Veterinary Institute has for years been the
sole provider of vaccines for livestock production in
Ethiopia, including poultry. Its core business has been
the production of vaccines for livestock diseases. Addi-
tionally, NVI provides feed analysis services. However,
the NVI has not been able to produce all necessary
vaccinations for commercial poultry production, which
is one of the reasons why vaccine production should be
taken up by the private sector in the years to come. At
the same time, NVI has not only produced vaccines for
the domestic market, but also exports to other African
countries.
The Institute provides the following ISO/IEC 17025:2005
accredited laboratory tests for the wider public:
»» bacterial identification;
»» antibody detection for certain diseases (ELISA, CFT,
HAI, RBPT, AGID, SNT);
»» isolation and identification of some viral pathogens;
»» molecular detection (classical and real-time PCR) of
certain viral and bacterial pathogens;
»» feed analysis.
NVI is undertaking various vaccine improvement and
vaccine and diagnostic kit development projects. For
further information, visit www.nvi.com.et.
24
AU-PANVAC
The Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Center (AU-PANVAC), an
African Union Agency, was launched on March 12th, 2004
in Debre Zeit (Ethiopia). AU-PANVAC has a mandate to:
»» provide international independent quality control of
veterinary vaccines produced in Africa and imported
to Africa;
»» produce and distribute essential biological reagents
for animal disease diagnosis and surveillance;
»» facilitate the standardization of veterinary vaccine
production and harmonization of quality control
techniques in Africa;
»» promote the transfer of appropriate vaccine produc-
tion technologies in Africa;
»» provide training and technical support services to
veterinary vaccine and quality control laboratories.
National Animal Health Diagnosis and Investigation
Center (NAHDIC)
The National Animal Health Diagnosis and Investiga-
tion Center (NAHDIC) is the most important veterinary
laboratory in Ethiopia. It is a state-owned center of
excellence for animal disease surveillance, investi-
gation, diagnosis and veterinary research. Currently,
NAHDIC has implemented ISO/IEC17025:2005 in three
laboratories, selecting six tests as its scope of accredi-
tation since 2009. These tests have been recommended
for accreditation in the pre-assessment process, and
will be accredited soon after the follow-up evalua-
tion by the accreditation body. The center is located in
Sebeta, 25 km from Addis Ababa. https://www.facebook.
com/NAHDIC/.
8.2 ASSOCIATIONS
Ethiopian Poultry Producers and Processors Association
Established in 2010, the Ethiopian Poultry Producers and
Processors Association (EPPPA) is working to support
the development of the poultry sector in Ethiopia by
addressing the key challenges of its members. It works in
collaboration with key stakeholders in addressing policy
matters which affect the sector. For further information,
visit www.epppa.org.
Other associations
Other professional associations that are linked to the
poultry sector include the Ethiopian Veterinary Associa-
tion (www.eva-ethiopia.org), Ethiopian Society of Animal
Production, and the Ethiopian Animal Feed Industry
Association (www.eafia.com).
Business Opportunity Report 2020

8.3 DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
African Chicken Genetic Gain program (2014–2019)
In November 2014, the International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI) and partners initiated a new collabora-
tion to provide better chickens to smallholder farmers in
Africa, entitled the African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG)
program. ACGG is a platform for testing, delivering, and
continuously improving tropically-adapted chickens for
productivity growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The program
targets three African countries – Ethiopia, Nigeria and
Tanzania – and is mainly financed by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation. It has a budget for the first five-year
phase of US$15 million and in Ethiopia the program will
be implemented in the main production regions, namely
Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray, as well as in and
around Addis Ababa.
The program aims to improve chicken genetics and
the delivery of adapted chickens to support poverty
reduction, productivity growth, increased household
animal protein intake, and the empowerment of women
farmers in rural communities. The immediate goal of
the program is to increase the access of poor small-
holder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to high-producing
but agro-ecologically appropriate chickens. Improved
breeds of chickens from India and Africa will be tested to
demonstrate high production potential under low-input
systems. For more information, see www.africacgg.net.
ACDI/VOCA
ACDI/VOCA implements projects mainly funded by the
US government. The organization has been operating
in Ethiopia for more than 10 years. Its current projects
include Advanced Maize Seed Adoption Program (AMSAP)
and Feed Enhancement for Ethiopian Development
(FEED) III. FEED III has the objective of strengthening
agricultural enterprises to participate in the livestock
value chain, expanding the trade of agriculture products
in the livestock and poultry sectors by enabling growth
of feed, forage, fattening, poultry and dairy enterprises,
and building the institutional capacity of private and
public stakeholders by supporting improved feed
policies and regulations. For more information, see
www.acdivoca.org/projects/by-country/ethiopia/.
Ethiopian–Dutch poultry sector relations
Dutch companies have been involved in the Ethiopian
poultry sector more than two decades. In the 1990s, the
company Double Harvest, led by Mr Gert van Putten,
came to Ethiopia to establish the large-scale integrated
Genesis Farms, which included poultry farming. At the
same time, Henk and Henny Janssen supported the
small-scale chicken farm Alema Farms in Debre Zeit
(which is now one of the largest poultry integrations in
Ethiopia). Double Harvest has a clear Christian Reformed
basis and never intended to solely make profits, but
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
specifically to create employment, provide training and
empower Ethiopians in the countryside. Much later,
Double Harvest established a specialized poultry farm
through the establishment of Maranatha Farms in 2009,
also in Debre Zeit, managed by Mr Karel Brak. These
initiatives laid the foundation for further actions by
other Dutch poultry stakeholders. For example, Mr Geert
Westenbrink, Agricultural Counsellor for the Nether-
lands Embassy in Addis Ababa between 2008 and 2012,
tried to expand Dutch support in the Ethiopian poultry
sector by supporting the establishment of the Ethiopian
Poultry Producers Association (EPPA) which is now called
the Ethiopian Poultry Producers and Processors Associa-
tion (EPPPA) in collaboration with Netherland African
Business Council (NABC). NABC also supported the
organization of the first poultry mission to Ethiopia in
February 2011 by a large group of Dutch companies.
This mission created momentum for more extensive
engagement and the establishment of the Holland–
Africa Poultry Partners (HAPP) consortium (www.nabc.
nl/dutch-poultry-africa-platform). This partnership was
created at the end of 2011 within the 2g@there poultry
project, a three-year program in which the Dutch private
poultry sector actively engaged with Ethiopian poultry
actors. The program included various trade missions (both
ways), trainings, mapping of the Ethiopian poultry sector
in a research report, and the establishment of the first
National Poultry Training Center in Ethiopia, equipped
with Dutch technology, at the Ethiopian Institute of
Agricultural Research (EIAR). Parallel to this program,
another multi-annual initiative financed by the Nether-
lands Embassy in Addis Ababa, the Agri-Business Support
Facility (ABSF), facilitated the organization of a tri-
annual Poultry Platform and the further support of the
EPPA, in cooperation with the Dutch agricultural NGO,
Agriterra. Agriterra is supporting a number of farmers’
cooperatives to engage in the production of animal feed.
Ethiopia–Netherlands Trade for Agricultural Growth
(ENTAG) is a project initiated to support agribusiness
and entrepreneurs operating in Ethiopia to develop the
country’s agricultural sector. The project was initiated
in 2016 and is due to conclude in 2020. ENTAG assists
clients who seek technical support, legal service support
including establishing a business, advisory support
on legal frameworks, organizing sub-sector business
platforms and trade missions, providing innovation
funds, and supporting private sector associations. ENTAG
works with EPPPA on poultry sub-sector platforms and
strengthening of the association. ENTAG has supported
the sector in developing “A strategic plan for implemen-
tation of disease prevention and control in commercial
poultry” by the end of 2018, in collaboration with the
MoA and other stakeholders which is expected to be
implemented in 2020. Furthermore, ENTAG has supported
entrepreneurs with a €25,000 grant contribution as an
innovation fund, to an innovative business model and/or
service delivery of a new or improved product related to
poultry feed supplement, feed additives and green feed
innovations. More information is available on the ENTAG
website, http://entag.org.
25
World Bank

The World Bank and its private wing, the International

Financial Corporation, have offices in Ethiopia and run a
number of projects. It is very useful for the poultry sector
players to keep an eye on initiatives from the World
Bank Group. At the time of preparation of this report, the
World Bank is running the Livestock and Fisheries Sector
Development Project at a cost of US$170 million. The
objective of the project is to increase the productivity
and commercialization of producers and processors in
selected value chains, strengthen the service delivery
system in the livestock and fisheries sectors, and to
respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis
or emergency. The project components link productive
farmers to the market. Poultry is part of the intervention
area. Details are available at http://projects.worldbank.
org/P159382?lang=en.

The World Bank also initiated the Ethiopia Resilient

Landscapes and Livelihoods Project in 2018, at a cost
of US$100 million, which targets poultry among other
livelihood development intervention areas.

26 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 ANNEXES

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 27

 ANNEX 1
Dutch investors in poultry sector

Existing Dutch investors in Ethiopia: The following foreign investors are operating in the poultry sector

COMPANY NAME DESCRIPTION WEBSITE

Maranatha Farm & Debre Holland
Maranatha farm was Founded in 2008 by the http://maranathafarmethiopia.com/aboutus.html
co-founder of Genesis Farms, Mr Gert van Putten
as a project of the Double Harvest Nederland
Foundation. Now owned by a Dutch private
investor, it is a major supplier of table eggs and
high-quality pullets in Ethiopia along with its
sister company Debre Holland established in 2019.

Chico Meat A slaughterhouse working with out-growers. https://chicomeat.wordpress.com/

Alema Koudijs Feed Plc A joint venture between Alema Farms Plc and www.alemakoudijs.com/about-alema-koudijs/about-us
De Heus Animal Nutrition B.V. (Koudijs). A pro-
ducer of a complete program of animal feed.

28 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 Egg production estimate

FARM NAME LAYER DUAL TOTAL LAYERS FERTILE DOC FEMALE – NET OF LOSS AT NET AFTER DUAL TOTAL EGGS TOTAL
BREEDER (Net of EGG (Net ONLY DOC FARM LEVEL FARMERS FARM LOSS FEMALE LAYERS PER
mortality) Production hatched) MORTALITY ( BACKYARD) SLAUGH- ANNUM
per annum LEVEL TERED
(Dual only) FOR MEAT
Total 90% 288 75% 50% 95% 50% 30%
EthioChicken 0 120,000 120,000 108,000 31,104,000 23,328,000 11,664,000 11,080,800 (5,540,400) 5,540,400 (1,662,120) 3,878,280 120 465,393,600
30,000 30,000 27,000 7,776,000 5,832,000 2,916,000 2,770,200 (1,385,100) 1,385,100 1,385,100 120 166,212,000

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector

Alema Farms 7,500 7,500 6,750 1,944,000 1,458,000 729,000 692,550 - 692,550 692,550 246 170,367,300
Gerado Farm 20,000 10,000 9,000 2,592,000 1,944,000 972,000 923,400 - 923,400 923,400 246 227,156,400
Ebrahim
Ene Ali Yimer 3,000 3,000 2,700 777,600 583,200 291,600 277,020 - 277,020 277,020 246 68,146,920
Golden Poultry 4,500 4,500 4,050 1,166,400 874,800 437,400 415,530 - 415,530 415,530 246 102,220,380
Farm
Hawassa Farm 10,000 10,000 9,000 2,592,000 1,944,000 972,000 923,400 - 923,400 923,400 246 227,156,400
20,000 20,000 18,000 5,184,000 3,888,000 1,944,000 1,846,800 (923,400) 923,400 (277,020) 646,380 120 77,565,600
Bedele Farm 3,500 3,500 3,150 907,200 680,400 340,200 323,190 - 323,190 323,190 246 79,504,740
EAIR 3,800 3,800 3,420 984,960 738,720 369,360 350,892 - 350,892 350,892 246 86,319,432
1,700 1,700 1,530 440,640 330,480 165,240 156,978 (78,489) 78,489 (23,547) 54,942 120 6,593,076
Elere Farm 5,000 5,000 4,500 1,296,000 972,000 486,000 461,700 - 461,700 461,700 246 113,578,200
Total 87,300 141,700 219,000 42,573,600 21,286,800 20,222,460 -7,927,389 12,295,071 10,332,384 1,790,214,048
ANNEX 2

ELFORA 86,400 77,760 365 28,382,400 80% 22,705,920

Maranatha 40,000 36,000 365 13,140,000 80% 10,512,000
Debre Holland 40,000 36,000 365 13,140,000 80% 10,512,000
Total egg production in quantity 1,833,943,968
Egg weight in kg 0.04
Total egg production in kg 73,357,759
Total population 100,000,000
Per capita egg consumption in no. of eggs 18.339

Per capita egg consumption in kg 0.734

29
 ANNEX 3
Dutch Africa Poultry Platform partners
(www.nabc.nl/dutch-poultry-africa-platform)

NAME OF COMPANY SPECIALTY ADDRESS

Aeres Training Center
International
(ATCI & Aeres University of
Applied Science)
Agraplan B.V.
Offers education and training programs at master, bachelor Aeres Groep
and certificate levels, for the next generation of professionals Bovenbuurtweg 27
in the green sector. Aeres Group also offers consultancy 6717 XA Ede
services and project implementation to both profit and Postbus 245
non-profit organizations. 6710 BE Ede
T: +31 (0)880 207000
E: info@aeres.nl
W: www.aeresinternational.nl
Animal health group, with expertise in poultry and feed Agraplan B.V.
additives for poultry. Maalstoel 6
7773 NN Hardenberg
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)880 156677
E: info.agraplan.nl
W: www.agraplan.nl

Cagemax B.V. Producer of animal protein; fat used as additives. Cagemax B.V.
Oude Bosscheweg 9
5301 LA Zaltbommel
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)418 584949
E: info@cagemax.com
W: www.cagemax.com
Champrix B.V. Delivers a wide range of premixes and protein concentrates. Champrix B.V.
Lombardje 14
5211 HM ‘s-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)850 640500
E: info@champrix.nl
W: www.champrix.nl

Darling Ingredients Producer of proteins, minerals, and fats. Darling Ingredients

(Sonac & DAR PRO (Sonac & DAR PRO ingredients)
Ingredients) Kanaaldijk Noord 20
5690 AA Son
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)499 364820
E: info@sonac.biz
W: www.sonac.biz

De Heus Animal Nutrition B.V.
Animal feed producing company. The company has 26 produc- De Heus Animal Nutrition B.V.
tion units, of which eight are located in the Netherlands. Rubenstraat 175
Production units outside the Netherlands are located 6717 VE Ede – Wageningen
in Poland, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, Vietnam, Russia, The Netherlands
Czech Republic, Brazil and China. T: +31 (0)318 675500
E: info@deheus.com
W: www.deheus.com

Foodmate B.V. Poultry processing equipment manufacturer. Foodmate B.V.

Einsteinstraat 26
3281 NJ Numansdorp
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)186 630240
E: sales@foodmate.nl
W: www.foodmate.nl

30 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 NAME OF COMPANY
GD Animal Health
Geerlofs Refrigeration
GI-OVO B.V.
I Grow Chicken/EBIT+
Impex Barneveld B.V.
Hendrix Genetics B.V.
Jansen Poultry Equipment
(JPE)
Koudijs Animal Nutrition B.V.
Marel Stork Poultry
Processing B.V.
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
SPECIALTY ADDRESS
Supports industrial customers, governments, veterinarians GD Animal Health
and farmers by providing animal health programs and Arnsbergstraat 7
laboratory diagnostic services. 7418 EZ Deventer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)570 633391
E: info@gdanimalhealth.com
W: www.gdanimalhealth.com
Supplies turnkey cold stores and freezer stores for fresh Geerlofs Refrigeration
produce worldwide; designs and builds tissue culture Delftweg 66
laboratories and growth rooms. 2289 BA Rijswijk
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)703 192132
E: export@geerlofs.nl
W: www.geerlofs.com
Supplier of egg handling innovations. GI-OVO B.V.
Anthonie Fokkerstraat 15A
3772 MP Barneveld
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)880 308900
E: sales@gi-ovo.com
W: www.gi-ovo.com
Multi-species breeding company with primary activities I Grow Chicken/EBIT+
in layer, turkey, traditional poultry, swine and aquaculture Wagenweg 222
breeding. 2012 NM Haarlem
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)235 422010
E: info@igrowchicken.com
W: www.igrowchicken.com
Develops management software for poultry farmers. Impex Barneveld B.V.
Harselaarseweg 129
3771 MA Barneveld
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)342 416641
E: info@impex.nl
W: www.impex.nl
Produces and sells parent breeders to the worldwide layer ISA/Hendrix Genetics
industry. Both white and brown egg layer genetic products Spoorstraat 69
are sold under the brand names ISA, Shaver, Babcock, P.O. Box 114
Bovans, Hisex and Dekalb. 5830 AC Boxmeer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)485 319111
W: www.isapoultry.com
Develops and produces poultry systems for breeders, layers Jansen Poultry Equipment
and broilers. All systems are tailor made to the wishes of Harselaarseweg 32
the entrepreneur and the needs of the animals. 3771 MA Barneveld
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)342 427000
E: info@jpe.org
W: www.jpe.org
Producer and exporter of a complete program of feed, Koudijs Animal Nutrition B.V.
concentrates and premixes on a worldwide scale. Rubensstraat 175
6710 BJ Ede
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)318 675420
E: info@koudijs.com
W: www.koudijs.deheus.com
Provider of advanced poultry processing systems and Marel Stork Poultry Processing B.V.
services. Manufactures and supplies dedicated solutions for Handelstraat 3
broilers, layers, parent stock, turkeys, ducks and geese. 5831 AV Boxmeer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)485 586111
E: info.poultry@marel.com
W: www.marel.com
31
 NAME OF COMPANY SPECIALTY ADDRESS

MOBA Group Manufacturer of egg grading, packing and processing MOBA Group
machines. Stationsweg 117
3771 VE Barneveld
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)342 455655
E: sales@moba.nl
W: www.moba.net
Joris van Ooijen
Area Sales Manager
E: joris.van.ooijen@moba.net
M: +31 (0)654 241948

MSD Animal Health
Offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments MSD Animal Health
one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, Wim de Körverstraat 35
vaccines and health management solutions and services. P.O. Box 31
5830 AA Boxmeer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)485 587293
F: +31 (0)485 587643
W: www.msd-animal-health.com

Ottevanger Milling Engineers
Supplies and produces equipment and processing lines for Ottevanger Milling Engineers
the grain processing and compound feed industry. Moerkapelse Zijde 32
2751 DL Moerkapelle
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)795 932221
E: mkp@ottevanger.com
W: www.ottevanger.com

Pas Reform Develops integrated hatchery technologies for the poultry Pas Reform Hatchery Technologies
sector. Bovendorpsstraat 11
7038 CH Zeddam
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)314 659111
E: info@pasreform.com
W: www.pasreform.com

TransNational Agri Supplies used, new and refurbished equipment for the TransNational Agri Projects B.V.
Projects B.V. slaughter industry. Hoofdstraat 79
4484 CD Kortgene
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)113 306042
E: info@transnationalagri.nl
W: www.transnationalagri.nl

Trouw Nutrition Provides species-specific nutritional solutions consisting of Trouw Nutrition Africa
feed concepts, products and nutritional know-how. Veerstraat 38
5831 JN Boxmeer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)485 589988
E: tnaafrica@trouwnutrition.com
W: www.trouwnutrition.com

Twinpack Special Products B.V.
Produces and markets high-end quality plastic pallets and Twinpack Special Products B.V.
drivers. Anthonie Fokkerstraat 15A
3772 MP Barneveld
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)880 308900
E: sales@twinpacksp.com
W: www.twinpacksp.com

VDL Agrotech Manufactures and supplies equipment for the modern, inten- VDL Agrotech
sive livestock industry. Designs, supplies and builds complete Hoevenweg 1
turnkey projects worldwide. 5652 AW Eindhoven
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)402 925500
E: info@vdlagrotech.nl
W: www.vdlagrotech.com

32 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 NAME OF COMPANY
Vencomatic Group
Verbeek Hatchery Holland
Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector
SPECIALTY ADDRESS
Supplies equipment for climate control for optimal poultry Vencomatic Group
performance, hatching and table egg packing and grading, Meerheide 200
and poultry -friendly housing equipment. 5521 DW Eersel
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)627 003801
E: info@vencomaticgroup.com
W: www.vencomatic.com
Supplies hatching eggs, chicks and pullets to poultry farmers. Verbeek Hatchery Holland
Kauwenhoven 3
6741 PW Lunteren
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)318 578250
E: info@verbeek.nl
W: www.verbeek.nl/en
33
 ANNEX 4
List of input suppliers

LOCAL POULTRY FEED INPUT, VET MEDICINE AND RELATED SUPPLIERS

COMPANY NAME PRODUCTS LOCATION

Dawit Yacob Plc/PureMix Feed supplements Addis Ababa

National Veterinary Institute Vaccine supply Debre Zeit
Al Impex Veterinary Drug Importer Vaccines Addis Ababa
Bejai Ethio Feed supplements and equipment Addis Ababa
Jagdish Agro Production Plc Concentrate
Naseba Animal Nutrition Nutrition supplier Holeta
FeedCo Animal Feed Plc Feed ingredients and supplements Mojo
Weljeji Agro-Industry
Gasco Trading Plc Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Markos Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Alema Koudijs Feed Plc Feed ingredients and supplements Debre Zeit
DAT International Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Merruna Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Garadus Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Equatorial Business Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
ELFORA Feed ingredients and supplements Addis Ababa
Hawetu Vet Vet supplies

POULTRY EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS

COMPANY NAME PRODUCTS LOCATION

BrazAfric Feed processing equipment

Bejai Ethio Feed supplements and equipment
Trapp Solution Equipment Supplier
Neway Plc Equipment supplier Addis Ababa
Markos Plc Equipment supplier
Goggle Poultry equipment supplier
Gold Long Machinery engineering Feed machine supplier China
Gasco Trading Plc Equipment and nutrition supplier Ethiopia
Electro Mecce Engineering Service Feed processing equipment Ethiopia
Techno Nejat Workshop
Agrovet Plc Poultry equipment supplier Ethiopia
B-SAM Engineering & Mesab Agro Local manufacturer of poultry equipment/feed
Industry processing units
Hawetu Vet Veterinary drugs and equipment importer

34 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 ANNEX 5
List of feed processors and their operating capacity

A: COMMERCIAL FEED PROCESSORS

COMPANY/UNION REGION ZONE TOWN/DISTRICT

Akaki Feed Processing Addis Ababa Akaki Kaliti Woreda 08

Friendship Agro Industry Addis Ababa Yeka Woreda 02
Beyene Feed Processing Addis Ababa Yeka Woreda 12
Leulseged Plc Addis Ababa Akaki Kaliti Woreda 05
Merin Addis Ababa Yeka Woreda 02
Asqual Addis Ababa Gulele Woreda 08
Geshaye Geletu Feed Plc Addis Ababa Akaki Kaliti Woreda 01
BZ Poultry and Feed Manufacturing Addis Ababa Akaki Kaliti Woreda 02
Getachew and Friends Plc Addis Ababa Kolfe Weleta
Alema Koudijs Feed Plc Oromia East Shewa Debre Zeit
Eleri Agro-Industry Oromia East Shewa Debre Zeit
Bora Feed Processing Oromia East Shewa Debre Zeit
Sululta Chancho Feed Processing Enterprises Oromia Finfine Special Zone Chanco
Pakana Feed Processing Oromia East Shewa Debre Zeit
Jeale Industry Plc Oromia Finfine Zuria Dukem
Addis Alem Oromia East Shewa Debre Zeit
Ethio Feed Oromia East Shewa Adama
Amell Oromia Finfine Zone Burayu
ATAP Oromia Adama Wonji
Wonggeli Animal Feed Plant Plc Amhara East Gojam Bahirdar
Metebaber Coop Plc Amhara East Gojam Adet
Tshey Farmers Coop Plc Amhara North Gonder Gonder
Wag Himra Feed Processing Plc Amhara Wag-Himra Zone Sekota
Mekele Farms Plc Tigray Central Tigray Mekele
Semeret Agriculture & Industry Tigray Central Tigray Mekele 03
Golden Poultry Plc SNNP Gurage Kella
Abay Feed Processing SNNP Hawassa Hawassa
Hafke Poultry Plc Oromia East Shewa Mojo
Hawassa Poultry Farm SNNP Sidama Hawassa
Yafet Animal Feed Processing SNNP Sidama Hawassa
Adama Metten Animal Feed Oromia East Shewa Adama

Source: ACDI/VOCA Bulletin, as of March 2017.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 35

 B: FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE UNIONS

YEAR STARTED
COMPANY/UNION REGION ZONE TOWN/DISTRICT
OPERATION
Admas Amhara Awi Koso Ber 2017
Ambericho SNNP Kembata Durame 2015
Ambo Oromia West Shewa Ambo 2016
Biftu Selale Oromia North Shewa Fiche 2017
Bokra Tigray South Maychew 2013
Damota Wolayita SNNP Wolayita Soddo 2016
Debre-Assa Tigray South East Abiy-Adi 2016
Enderta Tigray Eastern Mekelle 2015
Erikum Amhara South Wello Desse 2012
Gamo-Gofa SNNP Gamo-Gofa Arba Mich 2017
Gelema Oromia Arsi Bokoji 2017
Geter Adwa Tigray Central Adewa 2015
Gibe Dedesa Oromia East Welega Nekemt 2016
Gozamen Amhara East Gojam Debre Markos 2016
Lemlem Raya Tigray South Mehonie 2015
Liben Oromia SW Shewa Welliso 2017
Licha Hadiya SNNP Hossana Hossana 2011
Megenagna Amhara South Gonder Debre Tabor 2016
Melik SNNP Silte Worabe 2016
Merkeb Amhara West Gojam Bahirdar 2013
Saeti Samre Tigray Central Mekelle 2016
Selale Oromia North Shewa Chancho 2012
Setit Humera Tigray West Humera 2015
Sidama SNNP Sidama Hawassa 2011
United Feed Processing Addis Ababa Akaki Kaliti _ 2012
Wedera Amhara North Shewa Debre Berhan 2011
Welwalo Tigray East Adigrat 2016
Wonji Oromia East Shewa Wonji 2011

36 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 ANNEX 6
Poultry import/export key requirements

1. IMPORTING DAY-OLD CHICKS, TURKEYS, DUCKS, GEESE AND OSTRICHES

1.1 BASIC INFORMATION

Country of origin, species, breed name, identification number on each chick box must be available and clearly
readable; breeder institution (name, registration number and address of the farm of origin), importing
institution (name and address of the importer or the importing company) and quantity to be imported must
be labeled clearly, indicating necessary information for tracing the animal.

1.2 PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

1.2.1 The day-old chicks, turkeys, geese, ducks, ostriches or adult birds must be from parent stock, grandparent
stock, and/or be synthetic breeds with high breeding value.

1.2.2 The day-old chicks, turkeys, geese, ducks, ostriches or adult birds must be free from any genetically modified
organism (GMO) or living modified organism (LMO).

1.2.3 The source farms and hatcheries shall be certified for internationally acceptable good practices, biosecurity
and management standards, ensuring freedom from diseases.

1.3 HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

1.3.1 The day-old chicks (DOC) or adult birds should be accompanied by a veterinary certificate signed by a
veterinarian of the competent authority of the exporting country.

1.3.2 The certificate shall approve source parent and grandparent flocks, as well as DOCs and adult poultry
destined for export, to be free from clinical/infection and evidence of any communicable disease, such
as Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease, pullorum disease, infectious laryngotracheitis, and fowl
cholera in the previous year; and shall also be free from H5 and H7 subtype avian influenza, psittacosis,
avian encephalomyelitis, egg drop syndrome, infectious bronchitis, chronic respiratory disease caused by
Mycoplasma gallisepticum, infectious synovitis caused by Mycoplasma synoviae, and infectious coryza for the
past 6 months.

1.3.3 Day-old chicks or adult birds destined for export to Ethiopia shall be subject to regular supervision and
inspection by the animal quarantine authority of the exporting country to ensure freedom from diseases
stated in 1.3.2 in the 30 days preceding the date of exportation.

1.3.4 DOCs and adult birds shall be subject to tests for diseases.

1.3.4.1 Newcastle disease and other paramyxovirus infection: causal agent identification.
1.3.4.2 H5 and H7 subtype avian influenza: antibody test and causal agent identification.
1.3.4.3 Duck virus enteritis: serum neutralization test.
1.3.4.4 Waterfowl parvovirus infection: agent identification (PCR).

1.3.5 The certificate shall provide information regarding the date of pre-export quarantine (if applicable, kinds of
vaccines administered and dates of vaccination).

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 37

 1.3.6 The source flock for DOCs and adult birds shall not be vaccinated with vaccines against avian influenza and
coccidiosis.

1.3.7 The source flock should be subject to a program of disease surveillance and conduct, thorough investigation
on any episode of illness or death occurring among the flock, and on any unusual decline in hatchability or
deaths in chicks hatched from eggs produced by the source flock.

1.4 TRANSPORTATION

1.4.1 The DOCs and adult birds shall be transported with clean and sealed containers, disinfected with officially
approved disinfectant by the exporting country.

1.4.2 The birds shall not be transited through countries or zones where highly pathogenic avian influenza is
known to occur.

1.4.3 No supplementary feed or beddings shall be supplied and no other poultry or birds shall be loaded during
the transportation.

1.4.4 Confirmation of details of transport and arrival times must be supplied to the competent authority at the
destination country not less than 7 days prior to delivery.

1.4.5 DOCs shall be transported by air, via a route and using aircraft approved/accepted by the competent
authority where DOCs have been packed in compliance with standards, properly labeled and accompanied
by a health certificate.

1.4.6 The day-old birds must be unloaded at the port of entry stated on the import permit.

1.4.7 On arrival, the day-old birds must be transported under quarantine conditions to an avian quarantine
facility approved by the competent authority. Vehicles used to transport the crates to the quarantine facility
must not transport any other poultry of different origin and health status.

1.4.8 On satisfactory completion of the quarantine period, the imported birds will be released to the importer. No
compensation will be paid for birds slaughtered for disease control and diagnosis purposes or for any cost
incurred for disease testing.

1.5 PRE-CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY IMPORTERS

1.5.1 Facilities to be fulfilled

1.5.1.1 The poultry farms must be established in accordance with standards that enable adequate manage-
ment and biosecurity, with sufficient premises for flocks, for feed storage and other intended
purposes.
1.5.1.2 An appropriate disinfection regime should be applied to poultry premises, feed stores and trans-
portation vehicles and equipments.
1.5.1.3 Dedicated means of transportation should be made available as per the international requirement.
1.5.1.4 A clean and dry feed store with adequate ventilation must be established.
1.5.1.5 The farm must possess offices and record keeping, storage and washing/sterilizing rooms.

1.5.2 Human-resources

1.5.2.1 Well-trained and skilled personnel (avian expertise) for the poultry farm management must be
recruited.
1.5.2.2 Other attendants for the proper management of the farm, as required, must also be recruited.

38 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 2. IMPORTING FERTILE/HATCHING EGGS

2.1 BASIC INFORMATION

Country of origin, species, breed name, identification number on each crate for hatching eggs must be
available and clearly readable; breeder institution (name, registration number and address of the farm of
origin), importing institution (name and address of the importer or the importing company) and quantity to
be imported must be labeled clearly, indicating necessary information for tracing the animal.

2.2 PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

2.2.1 The fertile/hatching eggs of chicks, turkeys geese, ducks and ostriches must be from proven breed, parent
stock, grandparent stock, and/or synthetic breed with high breeding value.

2.2.2 The fertile/hatching eggs of chicks, turkeys, geese, ducks and ostriches must be sourced from non-infected
parent, grandparent flocks, hatchery, area or zone.

2.2.3 The fertile/hatching eggs, of chicks, turkeys, geese, ducks and ostriches must be free from any genetically
modified organism (GMO) or living modified organism (LMO).

2.2.4 The color of hatching eggs shell must be white shell or brown both for layers and broilers, while brown
shell is preferable for broilers.

2.2.5 During the pre-collection isolation period, the donor birds of the eggs for export must successfully complete
the observational treatment and testing requirements and remain healthy and free from disease.

2.2.6 The hatching eggs must be collected at frequent intervals of not less than twice per day and placed in
clean disinfected containers and should be sanitized as soon as possible after collection. The sanitized
eggs should be stored in a clean dust-free room used exclusively for this purpose and kept at 13–15°C;
and should have relative humidity of 70–80%. In all circumstances, egg collection must take place within
an approved indoor facility.

2.2.7 After collection, only visually clean eggs must be selected and fumigated using formaldehyde gas generated
according to OIE International Animal Health Code 2010, as updated periodically.

2.2.8 Where eggs are stored within the approved facility prior to export, they should not be held together with
eggs derived from birds not tested to a standard health status.

2.2.9 Each egg in the consignment must be identified using permanent markings or injected micro-chips.
Individual eggs must be identified to an individual breeding pair or trio and this information must be
reconcilable with the health certificate.

2.3 HEALTH

2.3.1 The fertile hatchable eggs should be accompanied by a veterinary certificate signed by a veterinarian of the
competent authority of the exporting country.

2.3.2 The certificate shall approve that source of parent and grandparent flocks for the eggs free are from clinical/
infection evidences of any communicable diseases such as Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease,
pullorum disease, infectious laryngotracheitis, and fowl cholera in the previous year; and shall also be free
from H5 and H7 subtype avian influenza, psittacosis, avian encephalomyelitis, egg drop syndrome, infectious
bronchitis, chronic respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma gallisepticum, infectious synovitis caused by
Mycoplasma synoviae, and infectious coryza for the past 6 months.

2.3.3 The source flocks for DOCs and adult birds shall not be vaccinated with vaccines against avian influenza,
coccidiosis and not be subject to vaccination with live Newcastle vaccine.

2.3.4 The source flock should be subject to a program of disease surveillance and conduct, thorough investigation
on any episode of illness or deaths occurring among source flocks and on any unusual decline in hatch-
ability or deaths in chicks hatched from eggs produced by the source flock.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 39

 2.3.5 The hatchery building of breeding flocks and poultry farms must be far and bio-secured from contact with
wild birds, domestic and wild animals.

2.3.6 Any death or illness during the pre-collection isolation period must be subject to specialist veterinary
investigation, and reports on causes of such deaths or illness must be made available to the competent
authority. The reports must establish that such deaths or illness were not attributable to an infectious or
contagious disease of quarantine significance.

2.4 TRANSPORTATION

2.4.1 The hatching eggs shall be disinfected in accordance with the methods designated in Appendix 3.4.1 of
the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of OIE or methods approved by the animal quarantine authority of the
importing country prior to packing.

2.4.2 The fertile eggs shall be packed using standard approved packaging material, should have serial numbers,
and have adequate and informative labeling.

2.4.3 The hatching eggs shall be transported by air, via a route and using aircraft approved/accepted by the
competent authority.

2.4.4 Confirmation of details of transport and arrival times must be supplied to the competent authority at the
destination country entry not less than 7 days prior to shipment.

2.4.5 The hatching eggs must be unloaded at the entry port the inspector of the competent authority approves
that requirements are properly met.

2.4.6 On arrival, the hatching eggs must be transported in dedicated transport in accordance with acceptable
quarantine conditions to its destination facility.

2.5 PRECONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY POULTRY IMPORTERS

2.5.1 Facilities to be fulfilled

2.5.1.1 The poultry hatchery and breeding flock poultry farm establishment should be single purpose,
single species enterprises and where several flocks are maintained on one establishment, the
individual flocks should be managed as separate entities.
2.5.1.2 Buildings for housing poultry or rooms used to store feed or eggs should be free of vermin and not
be accessible to wild birds, and should be dry, clean, well ventilated and dedicated only for egg
production, or for hatchery purposes.
2.5.1.3 The hatchery buildings and breeding farms should include physical separation and there has to
be a room for egg receiving and egg storage, egg traying, fumigation, setting or initial incubation,
hatching, sorting, sexing and placing chicks in boxes.
2.5.1.4 Wash/dressing room for employees, offices, store for equipment, and incinerator for disposal of
waste, which is built separately.

2.5.2 Equipment and consumables

2.5.2.1 All hatchery and poultry production farm equipment, and consumable utensils and horizontal
surfaces in rooms, must be thoroughly cleaned, washed and finally disinfected with efficacy
approved disinfectants.
2.5.2.2 The litter in the laying house should be kept dry and in good condition. The nest box litter should
be clean and adequate in quantity.
2.5.2.3 The hatchery and poultry production farms must possess facilities with adequate consumable
items, disinfection items, washing and/or sterilizing equipment.

2.5.3 Human-resources

2.5.3.1 Well-trained and skilled personnel (avian expertise) for the poultry farm management must be
recruited.
2.5.3.2 Other attendants for the proper management of the farm as required must also be recruited.

40 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 3. EXPORTING DAY-OLD CHICKS, TURKEYS, DUCKS, GEESE AND OSTRICHES

3.1 BASIC INFORMATION

Country of origin, species, breed name, identification number on each chick box must be available and clearly
readable; breeder institution (name, registration number and address of the farm of origin), importing
institution (name and address of the exporter or the exporting company) and quantity to be exported must
be labeled clearly, indicating necessary information for tracing the animal.

3.2 PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

3.2.1 A hatchery, breeding farm, poultry production flock must possess a known breeding stock, maintaining
strictly hygienic standards.

3.2.2 Buildings established for the hatchery or poultry breeding/production must be installed as per the require-
ments by the importing country, which are in particular far from wild and domestic animal farms. A building
must be equipped with adequate rooms for laying chicks, storage, washing rooms and waste disposal facilities.

3.2.3 The flock of origin is not subjected to any quarantine or other official restrictions on account of any disease.

3.2.4 The premises designed for the handling of laying chicks must be properly ventilated, heated and cleaned
properly and periodically, and disinfected with an approved disinfectant prior to each new consignment of birds.

3.2.5 Adequate feeding and watering facilities must be provided.

3.2.6 The entire facility including exercise facilities should be surrounded by a stock-proof perimeter fence.

3.2.7 The birds in isolation must be tended by staff having no contact with other birds of the same species.

3.3 HEALTH

3.3.1 A certification that the poultries were inspected by a veterinarian within 30 days preceding the date of
importation, that the poultries were found to be free from avian mycoplasmosis, duck virus hepatitis, fowl
cholera, fowl typhoid, avian influenza, avian mycobacteriosis, salmonellosis, infectious bursal disease
(Gumboro disease), Marek’s disease, Newcastle disease, pullorum disease, turkey rhinotracheitis, avian
paramyxovirus, turkey coronavirus (TCV), turkey viral hepatitis (TVH), must be available; as OIE standards
periodically updated.

3.3.2 The birds desired for export purpose must have not been exposed to any communicable disease, in particular
Newcastle, avian influenza and Gumboro, within 60 days preceding the date of the inspection.

3.3.3 Veterinary certificates are compulsory to be submitted with the poultries as per the requirement of the
importing country.

3.3.4 Shipment of animals affected or suspected of being with any disease listed by the OIE or with any other
infectious disease shall be prevented, as agreed by the importing country and exporting country.

3.3.5 A hatchery or breeding flock poultry production farm must deploy biosecurity facilities.

3.4 TRANSPORTATION

The day-old chicks, turkeys, ducks, geese, or ostriches shall be transported in a standardized chick box with
adequate place and ventilation with clean and unused packages/boxes or satisfactorily cleaned and sprayed
with approved disinfectant. In all cases, the transportation facility must cohere with the procedure of OIE
Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2007, as amended periodically.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 41

 3.5 PRE-CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY LIVE POULTRY EXPORTERS

3.5.1 Facilities to be fulfilled.

3.5.1.1 The farm must be established with necessary buildings and facilities for the intended purpose.
3.5.1.2 The farm must possess offices and record keeping, storage and washing/sterilizing rooms for
equipment.
3.5.1.3 Appropriate transportation facility as per the requirement by the importing country must be available.
3.5.1.4 A clean and dry feed store with adequate ventilation must be established.

3.5.2 Human-resources

3.5.2.1 Well-trained and skilled personnel (avian expertise) for poultry farm management must be recruited.
3.5.2.2 Other attendants for the proper management of the farm as required must also be recruited.

42 Business Opportunity Report 2020

 4. EXPORTING HATCHABLE EGGS

4.1 BASIC INFORMATION

Country of origin, species, breed name, identification number on each crates for hatching eggs must be
available and clearly readable; breeder institution (name, registration number and address of the farm of
origin), importing institution (name and address of the exporter or the exporting company) and quantity to
be exported must be labeled clearly, indicating necessary information for tracing the animal.

4.2 PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

4.2.1 A hatchery, breeding farm, poultry production flock must possess a breeding stock maintaining strictly
hygienic standards.

4.2.2 Buildings established for the layers or poultry breeding/production must be installed as per the requirements
by the importing country which are in particular far from wild and domestic animal farms. The building must
be equipped with adequate rooms for laying chicks, storage, washing rooms and waste disposal facilities.

4.2.3 The premises designed for the handling of laying chicks must be properly ventilated, heated and cleaned
properly and periodically and disinfected with an approved disinfectant prior to each new consignment of
birds.

4.2.4 Adequate feeding and watering facilities must be provided.

4.2.5 The entire facility including exercise facilities should be surrounded by a stock-proof perimeter fence.

4.2.6 The eggs intended for export must be attended by a staff having no contact with other birds or eggs.

4.3 TRANSPORTATION

The egg shall be transported in a standardized box with adequate place and ventilation with clean and
unused packages/boxes or satisfactorily cleaned and sprayed with approved disinfectant. In any case, the
transportation facility must cohere with the procedure of OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code 2007, as
amended periodically.

4.4 PRE-CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY HATCHABLE EGG EXPORTERS

4.4.1 Facilities to be fulfilled.

4.4.1.1 The hatchery/breeding farm must be established with necessary buildings and facilities for the
intended purpose.
4.4.1.2 The building for hatchery and breeding farm must possess offices and record keeping, storage and
washing/sterilizing rooms for equipment.
4.4.1.3 Appropriate transportation facility, as per the requirement by the importing country, must be available.
4.4.1.4 A clean and dry feed store with adequate ventilation must be established.

4.4.2 Human-power.

4.4.2.1 Well-trained and skilled personnel (avian expertise) for poultry farm management must be recruited.
4.4.2.2 Other attendants for the proper management of the farm as required must also be recruited.

Invest in the Ethiopian Poultry Sector 43